Development of Photon Correlation Spectroscopy Instrument for Size Analysis of Nanometer-Sized Particles of below 10nm

A photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) instrument for the size measurement of nanometer-sized particles below 10nm in diameter has been developed. This instrument incorporates a correlator that utilizes a novel digital signal processing technique. The correlator uses a rapid, multi-bit, photon counting technique with correlation channels of equal time intervals. The instrument is able to measure accurate size distributions of nanometer-sized particles. The accuracy in size measurement is confirmed by using the standard particles of polystyrene latexes, gold, and silica. Almost all of the measured size distributions agreed with the values determined by image analysis using an electron microscope. Rapid measurement with PCS technique may provide a distinct advantage over other measurement techniques for nanometer-sized particles of below 10nm.