PMS5003: A low cost air quality sensor for aerosol measurement
The aerosol sensor used in the PurpleAir instrument.

• Low cost (< $50) compared with regulatory grade instruments (> $10,000)
• Very widely used in the PurpleAir network for atmospheric measurements
• Reports the cumulative number of aerosol in size ranges, (0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, and 10 microns)
• Also reports PM1, PM2.5, and PM10, aerosol mass concentration (PM) for aerosol below 1 micron, 2.5, microns, and 10 microns
• Uses laser light scattering by aerosol as a measurement method
• Has received a lot of scrutiny

PMS5003 (from here). Length in the long direction is less than 3". Click image for large version.

Figure 2. Photograph of an opened instrument, and schematic. From Sayahi et. al. 2019. Click image for larger version.

Images of the instrument. From Ouimette et. al. 2022. Click images for larger versions.

Instruments at UNR (PurpleAir equipped with 2 PMS5003 sensors; and a circuit board for wireless communication, and BME280 pressure, temperature, and RH sensor) . Click images for larger version. BME280 datasheet and Adafruit breakout board.

References

Sayahi et al 2019. Long term evaluation of the PMS5003 in Salt Lake City.

Ouimette et al 2022. Evaluation of the PMS5003 as a nephelometer. (Supplement).

Senior thesis comparing our version of the PMS5003 with our air quality instruments.