Agilent Technologies NovoCyte Quanteon Operator's Manual page 33

Introduction
A bandpass (BP) filter transmits a relatively narrow range or band of light.
Bandpass filters are typically designated by two numbers. The first number
indicates the center wavelength and the second number refers to the range of the
light wavelength that is passed through. For example, a 572/28 BP filter transmits
light that is centered at 572 nm and has a total of bandwidth of 28 nm. Therefore,
this filter transmits light between 558 nm and 586 nm as shown in Figure 5.
A bandpass filter is used in front of each photodetector to only allow the light in a
particular range to be detected by the detector. Commonly, the name of the
bandpass filter is used interchangeably with fluorescence channel to specify the
detection wavelength range. For example, PE is routinely detected by a 572/28
bandpass filter. Therefore, 572/28 is referred as a PE fluorescence detection
channel.
Figure 5. 572/28 nm Bandpass Filter
Photodetectors
Photodetectors convert the light signal into an electrical signal.
Light Scatter
When a cell or particle passes through a focused laser beam, light is scattered in
all directions as shown in Figure 6. 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 size of the cells or particles
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NovoCyte Quanteon Flow Cytometer Operator's Guide 33