Investigation of the optical properties of aerosol by acousto-optic spectroscopy

The design, operation, and calibration of a laser acousto-optic spectroscopy system for determining the absorption and attenuation coefficients of atmospheric aerosol are presented. The method combines optical-design simplicity with signal-processing simplicity. Preliminary results on several aerosols (i.e., spores and smoke) demonstrate the feasibility of using the acousto-optic detector for the measurement of aerosol absorption coefficients. In addition to performing absorption-coefficient measurements, the detector can also be used to monitor aerosol dispersion for a variety of experimental conditions. A block diagram of the detector is presented.