Continuous counting, sizing and refractive index measurement of airborne particles in hollow-core photonic crystal fibre

Abhinav Sharma, Shangran Xie*, Richard Zeltner, Philip St J. Russell

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Air pollution by particles of aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) is currently an important environmental issue. As standard methods for monitoring and characterization are time-consuming and expensive, there is need for a simple, effective and inexpensive device for real-Time PM2.5 monitoring. Although optical methods based on the scattering of laser beams exist, they do not provide independent measurement of particle size and refractive index. In systems based on detection in an evanescent optical field, particles tend to adhere to the surface, strongly limiting the device lifetime. Here we report a new approach to airborne particle characterization that makes use of hollow-core photonic crystal fibre (HC-PCF). Employing optical gradient and radiation forces to trap and propel airborne particles along the hollow core, it provides in situ particle counting, sizing and refractive index measurement in real-Time with effectively unlimited device lifetime. We show that the transmission drop and time-of-flight can be unambiguously mapped to particle size and refractive index.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSeventh European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors
EditorsKyriacos Kalli, Gilberto Brambilla, Sinead O'Keeffe
PublisherSPIE
ISBN (Electronic)9781510631236
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Externally publishedYes
Event7th European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors, EWOFS 2019 - Limassol, Cyprus
Duration: 1 Oct 20194 Oct 2019

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume11199
ISSN (Print)0277-786X
ISSN (Electronic)1996-756X

Conference

Conference7th European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors, EWOFS 2019
Country/TerritoryCyprus
CityLimassol
Period1/10/194/10/19

Keywords

  • Optical trapping and manipulation
  • PM monitoring
  • Photonic crystal fibre

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