As a result of the project, thanks to the commitment and transfer of the unique know-how of individual partners, joint research and development works, thanks to the work of individual entities participating in the international project, a prototype particle counter was created with a high accuracy class, but at the same time miniature, battery-powered.

Obtaining such parameters will be possible using a different approach to the optical sensor than the typical method of laser light scattering. Coherent light in contact with the molecule in the measuring chamber creates a diffraction image. Diffraction follows the Bessel function and if the particle is in the center of a coherent light beam, a symmetrical image is generated. This image contains minimums and maximums of intensity that are directly related to particle size (figure below). In the ParCour project, we will explore the possibility of using this method with an array photodiode array and LEDs as a light source. The photodiodes must be designed so as to be able to detect the maxima and minima of the diffraction pattern. This should be done in a few μs and using an appropriate analysis algorithm. For this reason, electronics must be designed to solve Bessel functions. The LEDs can give light coherence in the range of 10 μm – 100 μm, which is sufficient for the particle size to be measured up to 100 μm. LEDs are in some cases preferable to laser diodes because they are cheaper and available at many wavelengths. Changing the wavelength can allow for accurate particle size and composition analyzes while further analyzing the fluorescence signal.