Three-dimensional location of micrometer-sized particles in macroscopic domains using astigmatic aberrations.

This Letter presents a theoretical and experimental image formation study in the presence of astigmatic aberrations. A three-dimensional, macroscopic location scheme of micrometer-sized particles for the single camera astigmatism particle tracking velocimetry (APTV) technique is introduced. Average particle z position determination errors of the technique are as low as 0.33%, with a measurement depth of 40 mm. These accuracies show APTV's ability of measuring volumetric velocity fields in macroscopic domains with limited optical access.