DETECTION AND RECORDING OF OPTICAL-SIGNAL STRENGTH BY A PHOTOEMULSION-BASED DETECTOR WITH LIMITED DYNAMIC-RANGE

This paper considers the mechanism by which the dynamic range of a photodetector is restricted because of the finite number of active photodetection centers. A statistical model is used to describe this effect when the image of an object is recorded in a photoemulsion. The model provides a basis for synthesizing the optimum system for the detection and photometry of an optical radiation source. The detection characteristics and the precision of the photometry are determined as functions of the signal and background intensities, the exposure time, and the photoemulsion parameters. The minimum number of frames to attain a given detection probability and photometric accuracy for a fixed total observation time is determined for a multiframe processing scheme.