Measuring two-dimension scattering pattern of marine submicron particles

Measurement of Volume scattering function (VSF) of small particles is an interesting topic since it has the potential to provide rapid, nondestructive means of environmental monitoring, exploring inherent optical property of ocean, and remote sensing, such as modeling the radiative transfer in the ocean, discriminating particles. To acquire three-dimensional angular scattering distribution of submicron particles, we design a two-dimension angular scattering pattern measurement system with a parabolic reflector and a CCD. VSFs of multiple scattering planes between angular range 20° to 160° are achieved simultaneously. We tested the setup with polystyrene spheres of 5 different sizes (diameter 57,193,362,528 and 809nm). One dimensional VSF was extracted from the two-dimensional angular scattering pattern detected by the CCD, and compared with theoretical VSF simulated by Mie theory. Preliminary experiment data show overall agreement with simulated VSFs, although considerable error still exists. Reasons for those error were analyzed and improving measures was given.