Multiple scattering suppression in static light scattering by cross-correlation spectroscopy

Cross-correlation techniques have been used successfully to suppress multiple scattering in dynamic light-scattering experiments on turbid samples. This allows dynamic information to be obtained straightforwardly by processing the remaining single scattering. Here we show that cross-correlation techniques can also be used to suppress multiple scattering in static light-scattering measurements. We use the two-color dynamic light-scattering method and exploit the fact that the amplitude of the time-dependent part of the measured intensity cross-correlation function depends on the ratio of the single-scattered intensity to the total (single + multiple) scattered intensity. The method is illustrated by measurements of the static structure factors of concentrated suspensions of "hard-sphere" colloids. Good agreement is found with those calculated in the Percus-Yevick approximation.