Cross-Section View of TSI 3563 Nephelometer
| What
a Nephelometer Is: |
| The TSI-3563 is a high-sensitivity device capable of
detecting the scattering properties of aerosol particles. It
designed for
long-term monitoring of visual range and air quality in both
ground-based
and airborne uses, specifically for studies of radiative forcing of the
Earth's climate by
aerosol particles and studies of atmospheric visual air quality.
The nephelometer detects by measuring the amount of light, or photons,
scattered by the aerosol and then subtracts light scattered by the
walls of the measurement chamber, light scattered by the atmospheric
gasses present (Rayleigh scattering), and the electronic noise inherent
to the detector system. It may also be used after a pretreatment
step, such as
heating, humidification or segregation by size. The light scattering coefficient is a highly variable aerosol property. This instrument measures the angular integral of light scattering that yields the quantity called the scattering coefficient, used in the Beer-Lambert Law to calculate total light extinction. |
System Functions: |
| The instrument works in the following manner. A small blower
continuously draws in an aerosol sample (eg. atmospheric air that has
been reduced to 40% RH by heating before inlet.) The
sample is illuminated by a halogen lamp directed through an optical
light pipe. The sample
volume is viewed by three photomultiplier tubes (PMT) through a set of
aperture plates (see cut-away diagram below.) Aerosol scattering is
viewed against a backdrop
of a very efficient light trap, where all internal surfaces are coated
to give a very light low scatter. Dichroic filters split and redirect
the scattered light into three bandpass filters, red, green and blue. A constantly rotating disc, the reference chopper, interrupts the beam going to the PMT tubes. The chopper has three separate areas to provide three types of signal detection. The first area gives a measure of the light scattering signal passing through a notch in the chopper. The second area blocks all light and gives a measurement of the PMT dark current, and is subtracted from the first signal. The third is translucent and illuminated by the lamp, providing a measure of the light illumination intensity, used to compensate for light source variation. In backscatted mode, a backscatter shutter rotates under the lamp to block sample illumination in the 7 to 90° range. When light is blocked, only light scatered in the backward direction is detected by the PMTs. The backscatter signal can be subtracted from the forward scattered signal data. |
System Description: |
| Wavelengths: |
450 nm (blue), 550 nm (green) and 700 nm (red/infrared.) | ||
| Bandwidth: |
50 nm for each wavelength |
||
| Sensitivity : |
blue and green - 1.0 x 10-7 m-1 red/infrared - 3.0 x 10-7 m-1 (at 30 seconds averaging time.) |
||
| Averaging Time: |
Selectable from 1 to 4096 seconds | ||
| Drift: |
<2.0 x 10-7 at 30 seconds averaging time for up to one
hour after filtered-air reference measurement for green wavelength. |
||
| Angular Integration: |
7 to 170° inclusive. |
||
| Backscatter Shutter: |
Changes angular integration from 7 through 170° to 90
through 170°. |
||
| Reference Shutter: |
Allows measurement of light intensity of a reference object
illuminated by the main lamp or of the photodetector's dark signal. |
||
| Filtered Air Reference Chopper: |
High-efficiency particle filter switches into sample air
stream automatically on host computer demand or at intervals selected
by user. |
||
| Response Time: |
<10 seconds |
| Links: |
| References: |
| Anderson, T.L., D. S. Covert, S. F. Marshall, M. L. Laucks, R. J. Carlson, A. P. Waggoner, J. A. Ogren, R. Caldow, R. L. Holm, F. R. Quant, G. J. Sem, A. Wiedensohler, N. A. Ahlquist and T. S. Bates, " Performanace Characteristics of a High-Sensitivity, Three-Wavelength, Total Scatter/Backscatter Nephelometer," Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 13, 967-986, 1996. | |||
| Anderson, T.L., and Ogren, J.A., " Determining aerosol radiative properties using the TSI 3563 Integrating Nephelometer," Aerosol Science and Technology, 29, 57-69, 1998. | |||
| Rood, M. J., D. S. Covert, and T. V. Larson, " Temperature and Humidity Controlled Nephelometry: Improvements and Calibration," Aerosol Science and Technology, 7, 57-65, 1987. | |||
| Charlson, R. J., S. E. Schwartz, J. M. Hales, R. D. Cess, J. A. Coakley, Jr., J. E. Hansen, and D. J. Hofmann, "Climate Forcing by Anthropogenic Aerosols,"Science, 255, 423-430, 1992. | |||
| Penner, J. E., R. J. Charlson, J. M. Hales, N. Laulainen, R. Liefer, T. Novakov, J. Ogren, L. F. Radke, E. E. Schwartz, and L. Travis, "Quantifying and Minimizing Uncertainty of Climate Forcing by Anthropogenic Aerosols," U.S. Department of Energy Report DOE/NBB-0092T (1993). |
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Modified: 15 February 2007
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