C1.2 - Dark field particle tracking with enhanced sizing precision by confining particles
- Event
- AMA Conferences 2015
2015-05-19 - 2015-05-21
Nürnberg, Germany - Band
- Proceedings SENSOR 2015
- Chapter
- C1- MEMS Applications
- Author(s)
- C. Haiden, F. Keplinger - Vienna University of Technology, Vienna (Austria), T. Wopelka, M. Jech - AC²T research, Wiener Neustadt (Austria), J. Vellekoop - University of Bremen (Germany)
- Pages
- 346 - 351
- DOI
- 10.5162/sensor2015/C1.2
- ISBN
- 978-3-9813484-8-4
- Price
- free
Abstract
The size of micro- and nanoparticles in liquid can be measured by tracking of their Brownian motion on video recordings. By matching the height of the liquid sample with the focal depth of the optical system, particles stay in focus and very long particle tracks can be acquired which in turn enhances the sizing precision. A microfluidic chip with suitable chamber height was used in a custom dark field video microscopy setup to detect and size suspended particles. Unlike conventional microscopy setups, the optical components were arranged horizontally to achieve a more compact and stable setup and allow simultaneous measurements of particle diffusion and sedimentation. We describe the design, fabrication, and characterization of the microfluidic chips as well as the sensor setup and apply the method for measuring the size distribution of metallic wear particles in base oil.