Improvements and considerations for size distribution retrieval from small-angle scattering data by Monte Carlo methods

Monte Carlo (MC) methods, based on random updates and the trial‐and‐error principle, are well suited to retrieve form‐free particle size distributions from small‐angle scattering patterns of non‐interacting low‐concentration scatterers such as particles in solution or precipitates in metals. Improvements are presented to existing MC methods, such as a non‐ambiguous convergence criterion, nonlinear scaling of contributions to match their observability in a scattering measurement, and a method for estimating the minimum visibility threshold and uncertainties on the resulting size distributions.