50 BD FACSAria User’s Guide
Signal Generation
The following sections describe how signals are generated when cells or particles
intercept the laser within the cuvette flow cell.
Light Scatter
When a cell or particle passes through a focused laser beam, laser light is
scattered in all directions. Light that scatters axial to the laser beam is called
forward scatter (FSC). Light that scatters perpendicular to the laser beam is
called side scatter (SSC). FSC and SSC are related to certain physical properties of
cells:
• FSC—indicates relative differences in the size of the cells or particles
• SSC—indicates relative differences in the internal complexity or granularity
of the cells or particles
forward scatter
side scatter
light source
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