Optimisation of a Polarisation Nephelometer

Abstract

An analysis of the influence caused by polarization nephelometer parameters on the scattering matrix measurement accuracy in a non-isotropic medium is presented. The approximation errors in the actual scattering volume and radiation beam by an elementary scattering volume and an elementary radiation beam are considered. A formula for calculating the nephelometer base is proposed. It is shown that requirements to an irradiation source of a polarizing nephelometer, i.e. mono-chromaticity and high radiation intensity and directivity in a wide spectral range can be satisfied by a set of high brightness LEDs with a radiating (self-luminous) small size body. A 5-wavelength monochromatic irradiation source, with an emission flux of (0.15–0.6) W required for a polarization nephelometer, is described. The design of small-sized polarizing phase control units is shown. An electronic circuit of a radiator control unit based on an AVR-Atmega 8-bit microcontroller with feedback and drive control realized by means of an incremental angular motion sensor and a software PID controller is presented. Precise and smooth motion of the radiator is ensured by standard servo-driven numerical control mathematics and the use of precision gears. The system allows both autonomous adjustment of the radiator’s reference positions and adjustment by means of commands from a personal computer. Both the computer and microcontroller programs were developed with the use of free software, making it possible to transfer the programs to Windows‑7(10), Linux and embedded Linux operating systems. Communication between the radiator’s position control system and the personal computer is realised by means of a standard noise immune USB-RS485 interface.