ISO 13320:2020 provides guidance on instrument qualification and size distribution measurement of particles in many two-phase systems (e.g. powders, sprays, aerosols, suspensions, emulsions and gas bubbles in liquids) through the analysis of their light-scattering properties. It does not address the specific requirements of particle size measurement of specific materials.

This document is applicable to particle sizes ranging from approximately 0,1 °m to 3 mm. With special instrumentation and conditions, the applicable size range can be extended above 3 mm and below 0,1 °m.

For spherical and non-spherical particles, a size distribution is reported, where the predicted scattering pattern for the volumetric sum of spherical particles matches the measured scattering pattern. This is because the technique assumes a spherical particle shape in its optical model. For non-spherical particles the resulting particle size distribution is different from that obtained by methods based on other physical principles (e.g. sedimentation, sieving).