The Unique Electronic Properties of the Silver Halides

Abstract

The modern photographic emulsion is an extremely sensitive detector of light quanta. In fact, high speed black-and-white film (which consists mainly of microcrystalline grains of AgBr or AgBrI suspended in gelatin on an inert base) ranks with the photomultiplier tube as capable of detecting a very few individual light quanta. Exposure times can vary from minute fractions of a second to hours. Unlike the multiplier tube, the photographic emulsion also responds well to relatively high light flux, that is, film can have wide exposure latitude. In many respects such as sensitivity, latitude, resolution, etc., film sets the pace as new multiplier tubes and charge-coupled devices are developed.Of course, the high sensitivity of film comes about because light absorbed within an emulsion grain causes a latent image to be formed (usually on the surface), which then renders the entire grain developable. The tabular grains of a modern high speed emulsion are largely triangular or hexagonal single-crystal platelets approximately 10 ü across and 0.1 ü thick. Such a grain will contain about 109 silver atoms, and it can be sensitized by a few molecules of gold sulfide or other additives adsorbed on its surface.In the concentration speck theory of the latent image, light is absorbed throughout the grain, but this energy is transported by the motion of electrons to a sensitivity center usually on the surface where the latent image is formed.