Remote Particle Counter Using Backscattered Light Imaging

Abstract

An optical particle counter using a short laser pulse and a charge coupled devices (CCD) camera with a fast gate shutter is proposed for the remote and real-time monitoring of large particles suspended in air. The counter can be used to visualize the laser-induced backscattered light from the particles in a limited region around two hundreds of meters apart from the observation station. The number of the particles and a histogram of the backscattered light were derived through image data processing. The process used to determine the concentration and size distribution of the particles is described.