Generation of aerosol-particle light-scattering patterns from digital holograms

The similarity between the light-scattering pattern of a particle in the near-forward direction and diffraction from the particle's silhouette is investigated. Images of irregularly shaped free-flowing aerosol particles are obtained from digital hologram measurements, which are then binarized to yield a silhouette. Application of Huygens's principle to the silhouette generates an approximate scattering pattern, which when compared to the true measured pattern shows good agreement for particles much larger than the wave-length of light. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America