First Info

Laser Diffraction
Particle Size Analyzer
This document is for your internal, informative use only.
Do not pass to customers or third parties!

Version: September 2017

Document is subject to change.
Latest version is saved online.
 First Info
Laser Diffraction
Particle Size Analyzer
This document is for your internal, informative use only.
Do not pass to customers or third parties!

Version: September 2017

Document is subject to change.
Latest version is saved online.
Important note to the distributor:

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Published and printed by Anton Paar GmbH, Austria
Copyright © 2017 Anton Paar GmbH, Graz, Austria

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Tel: +43 (0) 316 257-0

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Web: www.anton-paar.com

Date: September 2017

Document number: XPCIE009EN-A

ATTENTION

This document is strictly CONFIDENTIAL and is intended for INTERNAL USE only!
Contents
1. Symbols in the Document ........................................................................................................ 6
1.1 Conventions for the Symbols in the Document ..................................................................... 6
2. About the First Info .................................................................................................................. 7
3. Laser Diffraction PSA – Overview ............................................................................................ 8
4. PSA – Instrumentation ............................................................................................................. 9
4.1 Measuring principle and measured parameters.................................................................... 9
4.2 Data Evaluation.................................................................................................................. 10
4.2.1 Raw Data Acquisition ................................................................................................. 10
4.2.2 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................. 11
4.2.3 Diffraction Theory ....................................................................................................... 12
4.2.4 The PSA Instruments ................................................................................................. 13
4.2.5 Dispersion and Measurement Modes ......................................................................... 14
4.2.6 Liquid Mode Accessories ........................................................................................... 16
4.2.7 Dry Mode Accessories ............................................................................................... 16
4.2.8 Autosampler ............................................................................................................... 16
4.3 Key Features and USPs ..................................................................................................... 17
4.3.1 2-in-1 Concept............................................................................................................ 17
4.3.2 Robustness and durability .......................................................................................... 17
4.3.3 Standard Compliance ................................................................................................. 17
4.4 Specifications Sheet of the PSA ......................................................................................... 18
4.5 Applications ....................................................................................................................... 19
4.5.1 Cement and Building Materials................................................................................... 19
4.5.2 Mining and Minerals ................................................................................................... 19
4.5.3 Pharma, Cosmetics, and Food ................................................................................... 19
4.5.4 Chemical and Petrochemical applications .................................................................. 19
5. Product Line – Market Information ......................................................................................... 20
5.1 Market ................................................................................................................................ 20
5.2 Customers ......................................................................................................................... 21
5.3 Competition ........................................................................................................................ 22
6. Contacts & Responsibilities for PSA Instruments ................................................................... 24
7. Glossary and Abbreviations ................................................................................................... 25

XPCIE009EN-A Contents 5/25

1. Symbols in the Document

1.1 Conventions for the Symbols in the Document

The following conventions for the symbols are used in this document:
Required reading
This sign calls attention to a link to a document, video, etc. that you must read or watch
in order to complete the First Info. Please study the information provided. In text, the
required reading is marked with a grey line on the left and right side. In tables the red
font color is additionally used to mark the required reading rows. The content of these
sections is required to pass the test.

Did you know?

Here you will find some interesting stories behind the topics for your own interest.

Optional reading
This sign calls attention to a link to a document, video, etc. which might be of interest to
you. It is not obligatory to study the information provided.

6/25 1. Symbols in the Document XPCIE009EN-A

2. About the First Info
When you are just getting started on a topic, you might sometimes be faced with an information
overload. This First Info you are holding in your hands is for you – available from your very first
work day. It is designed to ideally prepare you for subsequent training sessions. It is also meant as
a small reference that contains all the info you need before training – nothing more, nothing less. A
perfect starting point!

On Your Way to Becoming a Sales/Service Expert for Anton Paar Products:

First Info for Sales Qualification Training for Sales People Sales Experts Meeting
& Service People Qualification Training for Service People Service Experts Meeting

Learn the basic Become qualified in selling / servicing Anton
concepts of a Paar products by gaining deeper insight into
product line. application knowledge, market/customer/
competitor information, sales/service
strategies, technical/product knowledge. Above
all, the trainings emphasize laboratory practice.
The autonomous learning process is supported
by webinars, Anton Paar Knowledge Update
and information on the Anton Paar Extranet.
Be invited by Anton Paar to
the Experts Meetings to
exchange knowledge,
experience and new ideas in
terms of product, application,
market and sales/service
developments on a high level.
A good opportunity to talk
shop without distraction.

What the First Info Can Do for You

The First Info introduces you to a product line and serves as your basic reference book to look
things up. It is self-explanatory, full of interesting background stories and contains topics such as:

 measuring/operating principles and methods

 the instruments, their USPs and the most important applications
 the markets/customers/competitors/references
 contact persons & responsibilities at Anton Paar

The First Info addresses both Sales and Service persons at Anton Paar subsidiaries and
representations. It ensures that everyone enters the Qualification Trainings at the same level.

It’s the First Info – Not the Last Word

The First Info is the essential basis, but it cannot replace an actual Qualification Training with its
wealth of additional detailed information for successful customer contacts. The First Info does not
enable Service engineers to perform a service on Anton Paar instruments, and does not enable
Sales people to win projects against experienced competition.

 Before attending training you have to pass an online test on the contents of the First Info.
 Studying the First Info ensures that you get the most out of your training - the trainers at the
Qualification Trainings cannot consider participants who haven’t studied the First Info.

Any feedback on the First Info is very welcome – help us to further improve it.

And now, enjoy getting on with your First Info package!

XPCIE009EN-A 2. About the First Info 7/25

3. Laser Diffraction PSA – Overview
In 2017 Anton Paar expanded its particle characterization portfolio by acquiring the PSA laser
diffraction product line from the French company Cilas. Back in 1967, Cilas was the one to pioneer
this technology, and has endured on the market ever since. Thus, Anton Paar is now the owner
and manufacturer of the world’s first laser diffraction instrument.

Particle Size Analyzer (PSA) is an instrument for determining the particle size distribution. It is
based on the observation that the angle of light diffracted by a particle bears a direct
correspondence to its size.

There are three PSA models: 990, 1090, and 1190, each characterized by a different size range –
the 1190 model having the widest. In addition, each model comes in three possible configurations:
liquid (L), dry (D), or liquid and dry (L/D), depending if the instrument has liquid, dry, or both
dispersion units. Thus, Anton Paar commercializes a total of 9 different PSA models.

8/25 3. Laser Diffraction PSA – Overview XPCIE009EN-A

4. PSA – Instrumentation
Particle Size Analyzer (PSA) is an instrument for measuring particle size based on laser diffraction
technology. There are three PSA models, 990, 1090 and 1190, each having a wider size range
than the previous one. Each model comes in three possible configurations: liquid (L), dry (D), and
both (L/D), depending if the instruments has liquid, dry, or both dispersion units. Different
accessories are available, such as the autosampler, for fully automatic measurement of up to 30
samples, and the small volume unit, for dealing with precious liquid samples.

4.1 Measuring principle and measured parameters

PSA (Particle Size Analyzer) is an instrument for determining the particle size distribution based on laser diffraction. Laser diffraction is
a phenomenon of (light) waves getting bent when encountering small obstacles, e.g. particles in a sample. Dispersed particles (dry or in
liquid) are directed towards a laser beam, which then gets diffracted by them (Figure 1). The angle of diffraction depends on the particle
size, i.e. the pattern of diffraction for a sample depends on particle size distribution (Figure 2,

Figure 3). This diffraction pattern is detected and analyzed – a complex algorithm compares the
measured values to theoretical values (based on either Mie or Fraunhofer diffraction theories). The
outcome of the measurement is a particle size distribution.

Figure 1 – Illustration of laser diffraction and an actual photo showing this phenomenon. The red arrow represents the laser beam, while
the concentric circles represent a simplified diffraction pattern, which is true for samples containing spherical particles of same size only.
Unlike on the illustration, no cuvettes are used in the PSA: liquid or dry samples either flow or fly through the laser beam.

sp > bp

Figure 2 – Schematic depiction of laser diffraction (laser bending) when encountering obstacles small enough to be comparable to its
wavelength. Diffraction angle of small particles (sp) is bigger than the one of bigger particles (bp). PSA instruments rely on this relation
to determine the particle size by measuring its angle of diffraction. More precisely said: the complex diffraction pattern (coming from
different particle sizes in a sample) is used to determine particle size distribution (PSD).

XPCIE009EN-A 4. PSA – Instrumentation 9/25

 I I

1.22  1.22 
d d
1 2

d > d
1 2

Figure 3 –Simulation of diffraction pattern for two spherical particles. Particle a) is twice as big as particle b). Above is a plot of intensity
of diffracted light through a radial cross section (shown as a red arrow). As shown in the equation, the bigger the particle diameter (d),
the closer to the center the first circle of the diffraction pattern is. In conclusion: bigger particles exhibit more “dense” diffraction patterns.

4.2 Data Evaluation

This chapter will explain you how the measured diffraction intensity is converted into real-life
information on particle sizes contained in the sample.

4.2.1 Raw Data Acquisition

In Figure 4 the actual detector from the PSA instrument is shown. Its wedge shape enables it to
detect the concentric circles of the diffraction pattern (Figure 3). However, unlike the above shown
text-book example of diffraction, real samples show an overlap of different patterns and the
“pattern” tends to look rather like a patch of light (Figure 5).

10/25 4. PSA – Instrumentation XPCIE009EN-A

Figure 4 – The detector from the PSA instrument. At the center of the wedge is a tiny hole allowing the undiffracted laser beam to pass
through. The black blocks are the actual photosensitive areas, which detect the intensity of diffracted light at different angles.

diffraction intensity of
many particles of measured
different sizes I intensity

SUM

 
Figure 5 - Overlapping diffraction patterns of a sample containing particles of different sizes (left), and a sum of diffraction patterns, i.e.
intensities actually measured by the detector (right).

4.2.2 Data Analysis

Once the instrument recorded an intensity plot (Figure 5), the next step is to distinguish individual
diffraction patterns out of it. The matrix illustrating the general principle is shown in Equation 1. The
measured data is combined with the expected theoretical values for different size classes, and the
algorithm estimates proportions of the classes in the total volume (i.e. particle size distribution, or
PSD). The expected theoretical values are based on either Fraunhofer or Mie diffraction theories
(see § 4.2.3).

XPCIE009EN-A 4. PSA – Instrumentation 11/25

Equation 1 – Matrix representing the principle of extracting particle size distribution (PSD) from raw intensity data. Raw intensity data is
shown in blue, and divided in portions measured by each detector, from 1 to n). The green part of the equation represents the PSD,
where N stands for the percentage of each size class (c1 to cm) in the total volume. The red part of the equation represents the
theoretical part, i.e. the expected intensities for each size class (c1 to cm) and each angle of detection (1 to n).

I1 Ic11 Ic21 Ic31 … Icm1 Nc1

I2 Ic12 Ic22 Ic32 … Icm2 Nc2
I3 Ic13 Ic23 Ic33 … Icm3 Nc3
… … …
In Ic1n Ic2n Ic3n … Icmn Ncm

4.2.3 Diffraction Theory

Two diffraction theories describing light-particle interaction are used for PSA data analysis, namely
Fraunhofer and Mie (Figure 6). Both assume spherical particle shape. Fraunhofer theory is
simpler, as it doesn’t take into account phenomena like absorption, refraction, reflection, or
scattering of light. It works well for large and/or opaque particles, and doesn’t require any
knowledge on the particles optical properties. Mie theory however, does take in account other light
scattering phenomena, and consequently requires knowledge on the particles refractive index for
the particular wave length. This includes the real part of the refraction index (covering light
bending) as well as the imaginary part (light absorption and extinction). Figure 7 describes a
simple flow-chart tool to help decide which theory to choose when measuring. As a general
principle, it is always preferable to use Fraunhofer than to use Mie with an inaccurate refraction
index.

Figure 6 – Illustration of the difference between Fraunhofer (left) and Mie diffraction theory (right). Large and opaque particles can be
analyzed using Fraunhofer theory, while all particles with known optical properties can be analyzed by Mie theory.

12/25 4. PSA – Instrumentation XPCIE009EN-A

 Is your sample mainly composed of large particles
(> 50 µm) and/or opaque particles? no
Is it a mixture of different type of particles?

Do you know the Ask about it, search the

yes no refractive index? internet…

yes

You got the info! Are the particles You only found
transparent? the real part…

choose Mie yes no

estimation of the imaginary part of choose Fraunhofer

the refractive index: 0.01-0.1

Figure 7 - A flow chart for choosing the right diffraction theory for PSA.

4.2.4 The PSA Instruments

PSA instruments are based on the principle of laser diffraction, and the set-up of the
optical/numerical benches is given in Figure 8. The low end model, PSA 990, contains one laser
diode (830 nm) and the silicon wedge-shaped detector (Figure 4), as well as two additional
detectors around it for measuring greater diffraction angles. The middle model, PSA 1090, has an
additional laser diode (635 nm) and one additional detector compared to 990, which expands its
range of diffraction angle measurement. This expansion towards greater angles allows for
expansion of the size range towards smaller particles (see Figure 9). The high-end model,
PSA 1190, contains all elements depicted in Figure 8. Since large particles exhibit extremely small
angles of diffraction, impossible to detect by the wedge detector, a numerical bench has been
introduced into the PSA 1190. This bench consists of a laser diode (830 nm) and a CCD camera,
which detects the shadow of the particles. PSA 1190 uses this information to determine sizes up to
the millimeter range (Figure 9).
XPCIE009EN-A 4. PSA – Instrumentation 13/25
Figure 8 - Schematic depiction of the PSA instrument’s optical and numerical benches. PSA 1190 contains all three laser diodes and all
detectors. PSA 1090 only has laser diodes 1 and 2 (no CCD camera), while PSA990 contains only laser diode 1 and the respective
detectors.

Figure 9 - Overview of size ranges for different PSA models (indicated left). Lower detection limits tend to be slightly higher for dry
sample than for liquid ones.

4.2.5 Dispersion and Measurement Modes

All PSA instruments (990, 1090, and 1190) are available in three different configurations. They can
have in-built liquid dispersion unit, dry dispersion unit, or both, and are labeled with L, D, or L/D
accordingly (Figure 10).

14/25 4. PSA – Instrumentation XPCIE009EN-A

 liquid
dry

Figure 10 – PSA instrument with L/D configuration, and isolated liquid and dry dispersion/measurement units.

The liquid dispersion unit is comprised of a mechanical stirrer with adjustable speed and an
ultrasonic tank with adjustable power and duration. A peristaltic pump with adjustable speed
pumps the dispersed sample towards the measurement flow-cell, where the laser passes through.
The sample is further pumped in towards the dispersion unit, and keeps on circulating until the
measurement is done. After the measurement the samples is drained out, and the system is
rinsed.

The dry dispersion unit is comprised of a powder container equipped with an adjustable vibratory
hopper. The vibration shakes the sample powder down a manifold and towards a jet stream of air
which shoots the sample towards the laser (by Venturi effect). The air pressure is adjustable, and
comes either from an available outlet in the lab, or from an air compressor (see § 4.2.7). The dry
sample dispersion is enhanced by a patented Dry Jet Technology, which allows excellent
dispersions under low air pressures. At the end of the air jet stream a vacuum cleaner is attached,
collecting the sample powders once they pass the laser beam (see § 4.2.7).

For very large and heavy particles, the slide coming out of the sample container can be directed
towards the detectors, and the sample can be shaken out directly over the laser beams. This “free
fall” approach allows the sample to cross the beams of both laser 1 and laser 3, as they are one
above another. This is crucial because laser 3 is combined with the CCD camera, which is the only
detector capable of measuring particles larger than 500 µm (see Figure 8 and § 4.2.4). On the
other hand, this allows for the measurement of particles too heavy for the air jet flow. Free fall
measurements require no vacuum cleaner, as the particles are collected in a container placed
under the slide.

XPCIE009EN-A 4. PSA – Instrumentation 15/25

4.2.6 Liquid Mode Accessories
The Small Volume Unit (SVU) is an adapter inserted in the ultrasonic tank in order to lower the
required minimal sample volume down to 45 ml (Figure 11). The installation takes under 10 min,
and the SVU is compatible with aggressive solvents and samples.

Figure 11 - Small Volume Unit, i.e. the adapter for lowering the minimal required sample volume.

4.2.7 Dry Mode Accessories

The Air Compressor delivers compressed air for dry powder dispersions in environments where no
compressed air outlet is available (see Figure 12).

The Vacuum cleaner is used to collect powder samples at the end of the air jet stream (see § 4.2.4
and Figure 12).

Figure 12 - External vacuum cleaner (left) and air compressor (right)

4.2.8 Autosampler
The Autosampler (Figure 13) allows for a fully automated measurement in liquid and dry mode,
with a capacity of 30 samples. The automation also integrates rinsing cycles, and no additional
software is required.

16/25 4. PSA – Instrumentation XPCIE009EN-A

 Figure 13 - Autosampler for PSA instruments.

4.3 Key Features and USPs

4.3.1 2-in-1 Concept

The PSA instruments are the only ones on the market offering both dry and liquid dispersion units
integrated in one instrument. Switching between modes can be done with one mouse click from
the software, and there is no need for (dis)mounting the dispersion units like with all other laser
diffraction instruments.

4.3.2 Robustness and durability

The PSA instruments are characterized by their robust casing and optical bench. They are highly
resistant to dust and other contaminations, as well as to vibrations and mechanical stress in heavy
industrial environments. Durability is another key characteristic of the PSAs, as the inbuilt laser
diodes have a very long lifetime. Additionally, the laser diodes have a very short warm up time
(1 min), which eliminates the need to keep the instrument on when not in use (waiting to measure),
and further prolongs their lifetime. Low maintenance is yet another important feature, as the optical
bench is resistant to temperature fluctuations, and no realignment is needed even in the harshest
conditions.

4.3.3 Standard Compliance

All PSAs comply with the ISO 13320 standard, and the software complies to the FDA’s
21 CFR Part 11 for complete traceability of results.

XPCIE009EN-A 4. PSA – Instrumentation 17/25

4.4 Specifications Sheet of the PSA

18/25 4. PSA – Instrumentation XPCIE009EN-A

4.5 Applications

4.5.1 Cement and Building Materials

The very first laser diffraction instrument was developed by the French company Cilas following
the request from a leading cement manufacturer to develop a new technique for particle size
measurement. That means PSA instruments have a long history of being used in these purposes.
The cast-iron base plate makes the system robust enough to be used in the harshest environment.
The patented Dry Jet Dispersion technology allows precise measurement of difficult dry cement
samples.

See the Application Report: “Heavy Duty Made Easy: Particle Size Analysis for the Cement
Industry” (Doc. No. E27IA001)

4.5.2 Mining and Minerals

Users in this industry need equipment that will work reliably in harsh environment, and PSAs are
an excellent solution. The cost-effective 990 model has a standard measurement range of 0.2 to
500 µm, which is ideally suited for the needs of the mining and minerals industry. The ultrasonic
liquid dispersion unit ensures effective de-agglomeration of the samples. The accompanying
software enables comparisons with data obtained by other methods.

4.5.3 Pharma, Cosmetics, and Food

The extended measurement range of PSA 1190 enables the analysis of a wide range of samples,
from raw materials to final products. The free-fall module offers non-destructive analysis of fragile
samples. In addition, all PSAs are ISO 13320 calibrated and CFR 21 Part 11 compliant, which
includes automatic audit trail generation of key data changes and ensures full result traceability.

See the Application Report: “Measure the Pleasure: Particle Size Analysis of Chocolate Powder”
(Doc. No. E27IA002)

4.5.4 Chemical and Petrochemical applications

The PSA 1090 with its submicron range of particle size measurements is well suited for
(petro)chemical industries. The ultrasonic tank as well the small volume unit, are both resistant to
aggressive substances and solvents. The SVU allows small volumes of expensive samples to be
used.

See the Application Report: “With Flying Colors: Pigment Size Analysis Using Dry Jet Dispersion
Technology” (Doc. No. E27IA003)

XPCIE009EN-A 4. PSA – Instrumentation 19/25

5. Product Line – Market Information
Laser diffraction makes up almost half of the global particle sizing market. By adding the PSA
instruments to its portfolio, Anton Paar targets a large chunk of this market.

5.1 Market
About a third of the global particle characterization market (415 M€) is comprised of particle size
analyzers. In this part, laser diffraction is dominant with over 60 % of market share (Figure 14).
With its PSA instruments, Anton Paar targets an estimated 75 % of the laser diffraction market.
The remaining 25 % (or less) are the droplet measurements (liquid dispersion in air), which PSA is
not equipped to measure. As for the regional view, Europe and North America together make up
more than half of the particle characterization market, while China and Japan together represent a
third of the global market (Figure 15).

Figure 14 - Global PC Market Overview

20/25 5. Product Line – Market Information XPCIE009EN-A

 Figure 15 - Particle characterization market divided by regions

5.2 Customers
In Figure 16 an overview of the particle characterization market is given, as related to the
application.

Figure 16 - Overview of the particle characterization market with respect to application

XPCIE009EN-A 5. Product Line – Market Information 21/25

5.3 Competition
The biggest competitor of the PSA instruments in terms of market share is the Mastersizer 3000 by
the British company Malvern Instruments (see the respective instrument specifications in Table 2).
With regards to company size, the biggest competitor by far is Beckman Coulter with its LS13320
laser diffraction instrument. Other notable competitors include Horiba Scientific with LA-960 and
LA-350, and Sympatec and Fritsch, with their (respective) instruments Helos and Analysette 22
(Table 1). The pricing ranges for competing instruments are given in Figure 17. As can be seen on
these last two figures, PSA instruments tend to be rather low-priced, while offering a wide range of
functionality.

Table 1- Laser diffraction competition overview

Figure 17 – Price ranges for the competing laser diffraction instruments, for configurations with only one type of dispersion unit.

22/25 5. Product Line – Market Information XPCIE009EN-A

 Table 2 - Comparison between Mastersizer and PSA instruments

MASTERSIZER PSA Comments (M. = Malvern)

He-Ne GAS He-Ne has a lower lifetime and is more

SOLID STATE
(632.8nm, 4mW) expensive to replace than laser diodes.
LASER LASER DIODES
and LED is not optimal for laser diffraction
SOURCES (830nm, 5mW and
LED instruments (not coherent, non-Gaussian).
635nm, 2mW)
(470nm, 10mW) Laser diodes do not need warm up time.

DISPERSION Hardware adjustment by operator when

add on accessories 2-in-1
UNITS switching from one mode to another.
M. claims 0, but cannot go below
500mbar. The PSAs can apply a minimum
pressure of 150 mbar.
PRESSURE
0,50 – 4,00 bar 0,15 – 6,00 bar The lower limit is relevant for fragile,
(dry mode)
sensitive powders that might be
destructed when to high pressure gets
applied.
M. specifies 0.01 – 3500 µm but the full
L: 0.01 - 2100 µm L: 0.04 – 2500 µm
RANGE range is not covered by each mode
D: 0.1 - 3500 µm D: 0.1 – 2500 µm
separately.
ULTRASOUND From the center Surrounding sample M. encounters sample heating problems
UNIT Max power 40W 20, 35, 50W and inhomogeneous sonication.

Only L (3000E
Basic & Extended) L, D and LD
Manual accessories IQOQPQ available
The 3000E has only the He-Ne laser as a
ENTRY-LEVEL (3000E Basic) 21CFR Part 11
laser source
MODEL No IQOQPQ available
No LED
No 21CFR Part 11 Free software
No software upgrade
upgrade

Automatic
No realignment
ALIGNMENT alignment before
necessary
each measurement

AUTOSAMPLER No Yes (L and D)

Peristaltic is easier to clean, as there is no

PUMP Centrifugal Peristaltic need to dismantle the pump. There is also
less cross contamination risks.

XPCIE009EN-A 5. Product Line – Market Information 23/25

6. Contacts & Responsibilities for PSA
Instruments
The following chart gives you an overview on how the PSA product line is organized within the
Particle Characterization department. Please refer to the employee database for full contact data.

24/25 6. Contacts & Responsibilities for PSA Instruments XPCIE009EN-A

7. Glossary and Abbreviations
PSA Particle Size Analysis, Particle Size Analyzer

PSD Particle Size Distribution

L Liquid (mode, measurement, dispersion unit)

D Dry (mode, measurement, dispersion unit)

LD Liquid/Dry

CCD Charge-Coupled Device

SVU Small Volume Unit

USP Unique Selling Proposition

Accuracy Closeness of a test result to an accepted reference value (including both random
and systematic errors)

Repeatability Closeness of agreement between multiple measurement results of a given property

in the same dispersed sample aliquot, executed by the same operator in the same
instrument under identical conditions within a short period of time

XPCIE009EN-A 7. Glossary and Abbreviations 25/25