Spectral Sensitivity
spectral sensitivity
[′spek·trəl ‚sen·sə′tiv·əd·ē]Spectral Sensitivity
The spectral sensitivity of a radiation detector is the ratio of the quantity characterizing the level of the detector’s response and the energy flux of the monochromatic radiation causing the response (seeMONOCHROMATIC LIGHT). A distinction is made between the absolute spectral sensitivity, which is expressed in units (for example, in amperes per watt if the detector’s response is measured in amperes), and the dimen-sionless relative spectral sensitivity, which is the ratio of the spectral sensitivity at a given wavelength to the maximum value of the spectral sensitivity or to the spectral sensitivity at some other wavelength.
The spectral sensitivity of the human eye is represented by the spectral luminous efficacy of the radiant flux. The spectral sensitivity of photographic materials is discussed in SENSITIZATION, OPTICAL and in SENSITOMETRY.