Improving the signal-to-noise ratio of Faraday cup aerosol electrometer based aerosol instrument calibrations
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 373-379 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Aerosol Science and Technology |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2 Apr 2016 |
| Publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Abstract
This study introduces a new bipolar measurement routine for particle number concentration calibrations. In the new routine, singly-charged particles of opposite polarities are measured sequentially with a Faraday cup aerosol electrometer (FCAE). We compared the bipolar routine to the traditional FCAE routine, where particle signal and electrometer offset are measured in turns, by calibrating a single CPC on a wide particle number concentration range (from 1000 to 77,000 cm-3) with both routines. By increasing the signal-to-noise ratio, the bipolar routine decreases the type A uncertainty of the calibration especially at low particle concentrations. In practice, the new routine enables shortening the measurement times by 80% at the lowest particle concentrations which, in practice, corresponds to hours.