Single-particle optical sensor with improved sensitivity and dynamic size range

摘要

An optical sensor for counting and sizing particles, including a light extinction (LE) signal representative of the particles, and a light scattering (LS) signal representative of the particles. The light scattering signal and the light extinction signal are combined to form a single composite signal. The single composite signal has a substantially similar output to the light extinction (LE) signal for particle sizes in an upper range of particle sizes typically measured by the light extinction sensor. The single composite signal has a substantially similar output to the light scattering (LS) signal for particle sizes in a lower range of particle sizes typically measured by the light scattering sensor. The single composite signal has an output representing the combined light extinction (LE) signal and light scattering (LS) signal for particle sizes in a middle range of particle sizes.