Estimation of the Particle Sizing Error Due to Particle Position in an Integrated PM2.5 Optical Particle Counter^†

An increasing need for portable personal time- and size-resolved monitoring of the fine airborne particulate matter drives the development towards miniaturization and cost reduction of the optical particle counters. In an integrated design of the optical particle counters, the confinement of the air is becoming more critical, since variations in particle positions are getting bigger relative to the dimensions of the sensor. Variations in particle position directly affect the light collection angle and hence induce the particle sizing error. We have developed a 3D simulation framework based on a Lorentz-Mie theory and analyzed the effect of particle position on the particle sizing error. We show that the relative sizing error induced by particle position is detrimental and seriously limits the sizing performance of downscaled PM2.5 sensors.