Examples

Example 1: Monodisperse Distribution (Single Wavelength) –Comparison with an alternative Mie Tool

This example presents a single-wavelength simulation for monodisperse spheres possessing a complex refractive index. The results from the Mie Simulator GUI demonstrate excellent agreement with Scott Prahl's Mie Scattering Calculator; minor discrepancies primarily attributed to rounding.

Simulation parameters:

Sphere Diameter: 1.0microns
Refractive Index of Medium: 1.33
Real Refractive Index of Sphere: 1.5
Imaginary Refractive Index of Sphere: -0.5
Wavelength: 632.8nm
Number Density: 1e8spheres/mm3
Number of Angles: 360 (dtheta = π/360 = 0.5˚)

Comparison:

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Example 2: Polydisperse Distribution (Multi-Wavelength) – Scattering of Intralipid Phantoms

To demonstrate the tool's scientific utility, we considered the characterization of Intralipid, a standard tissue phantom in biomedical optics (DiNinni2011). Based on Intralipid particle distribution profiles in the literature Raju2017, we assumed a polydisperse Log Normal particle distribution with a mean diameter of 0.22 $\text{µm}$ and a standard deviation of 0.37 $\text{µm}$. We set the refractive indices to 1.47 for the soybean oil droplets and 1.33 for the surrounding medium, while assigning a value of 101 to the Num. sph. sizes field.

To analyze different concentrations ranging from 0.2% to 20% (Aernouts2013, vanStaveren1991), volume fractions were scaled using a baseline value of 0.227 for a 20% (w/w) Intralipid concentration (Aernouts2013). Upon executing the simulation across the 400–2250 $\text{nm}$ spectral range, MieSimulatorGUI calculates $\mu_{s}$, $\mu_{s}'$ and $g$.

Simulation parameters used to compare the equations in the plots with Eq. (1) in Aernouts2013:

Poly Disperse Distribution: Log Normal
Mean Diameter: 0.22 microns
Std. Deviation: 0.37 microns
Number of Sph. Sizes: 101
Refractive Index of Medium: 1.33
Real Refractive Index of Sphere: 1.47
Imaginary Refractive Index of Sphere: 0
Wavelength: 500 nm to 2250 nm in 10 nm steps
Volume Fraction: 0.227 (20% IL)
Number of Angles: 360 (dtheta = π/360 = 0.5˚)

Simulation parameters for comparing Eqs. (12) and (13) in van Staveren (1991):

Poly Disperse Distribution: Log Normal
Mean Diameter: 0.22 microns
Std. Deviation: 0.37 microns
Number of Sph. Sizes: 101
Refractive Index of Medium: 1.33
Real Refractive Index of Sphere: 1.47
Imaginary Refractive Index of Sphere: 0
Wavelength: 400 nm to 1100 nm in 10 nm steps
Volume Fraction: 0.1135 (10% IL)
Number of Angles: 360 (dtheta = π/360 = 0.5˚)

While the selected volume fractions may exceed independent scattering limits established in the literature (Tien1987, Galy2020, Yalcin2022), the results show strong agreement with established bulk scattering properties (Aernouts2013, vanStaveren1991). The slight differences may be attributed to dependent scattering, as well as discrepancies between the actual Intralipid particle distribution and our assumed Log Normal distribution.

References

Aernouts, B., Zamora-Rojas, E., Beers, R. V., Watté, R., Wang, L., Tsuta, M., Lammertyn, J., & Saeys, W. (2013). Supercontinuum laser based optical characterization of intralipid® phantoms in the 500-2250 nm range. Opt. Express, 21(26), 32450–32467. https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.21.032450

Di Ninni, P., Martelli, F., & Zaccanti, G. (2011). Intralipid: towards a diffusive reference standard for optical tissue phantoms. Physics in Medicine & Biology, 56(2), N21–N28. https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-9155/56/2/N01

Galy, T., Huang, D., & Pilon, L. (2020). Revisiting independent versus dependent scattering regimes in suspensions or aggregates of spherical particles. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 246, 106924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2020.106924

Raju, M., & Unni, S. N. (2017). Concentration-dependent correlated scattering properties of intralipid 20% dilutions. Appl. Opt., 56(4), 1157–1166. https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.56.001157

Staveren, H. J. van, Moes, C. J. M., Marie, J. van, Prahl, S. A., & Gemert, M. J. C. van. (1991). Light scattering in lntralipid-10% in the wavelength range of 400–1100 nm. Applied Optics, 30(31), 4507–4514. https://doi.org/10.1364/ao.30.004507

Tien, C. L., & Drolen, B. L. (1987). Thermal radiation in particulate media with dependent and independent scattering. Annual Review of Numerical Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer, 1, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1615/AnnualRevHeatTransfer.v1.30

Yalcin, R. A., Lee, T., Kashanchi, G. N., Markkanen, J., Martinez, R., Tolbert, S. H., & Pilon, L. (2022). Dependent scattering in thick and concentrated colloidal suspensions. ACS Photonics, 9(10), 3318–3332. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.2c00664

Last edited: Feb 6, 2026