Technology development and demonstration of a Light Extinction Spectroscopy (LES) instrument for sub-micron particle characterisation

Submicron particles' characterization, i.e., the determination of their size, concentration, and morphology, is a predominant subject of research due to their use in numerous fields of science and industry, e.g., food and pharmaceutical industry, material science, or biotechnology. Unfortunately, the instruments available on the market all need sampling, which does not allow studying particles in their native environments. This project aims to further develop a metrology instrument based on Light Extinction Spectroscopy (LES). This instrument is non-intrusive and can be used on-site and in real-time. We will include new features in the LES data inversion algorithm to detect particle aggregates and extend its range of applications up to particles with a diameter of few microns. We will valorize our instrument via patenting and make it ready for non-expert users in industrial and semi-industrial (R&D laboratory) environments. This C3 project complements the C2 project (C24/18/057), during which the LES instrument has been first developed and validated for aerosols, nanofluids, and colloids. We estimate the actual TRL of the instrument equal to 4 and that at the end of the project, the device will reach a TRL equal to 7.

Keywords:instrumentation, light extinction, nanoparticles, nanofluids, aerosol

Disciplines:Dimensional metrology, Nanoscale characterisation