The Sensitization Process Of Dichromated Gelatin

The effects of varying the concentration of the ammonium dichromate sensitizing solution on the gelatin film properties were investigated quantitatively. The film thicknesses were measured following preparation, sensitization and processing. The refractive indices of the film surfaces were measured following sensitization and processing. The absorbances of the films were measured following sensitization. The results indicated that following sensitization the refractive indices of the films increased and the film thicknesses decreased for low ammonium dichromate concentrations and increased for high concentrations. Subsequent to processing, the refractive indices decreased and the film thicknesses increased for films sensitized at low concentrations and decreased for films sensitized at high concentrations. The expected shifts in the reconstruction wavelengths were determined from the changes in the film thicknesses and refractive indices and were found to agree well with the wavelength shifts measured using a spectrophotometer. The reconstruction wavelengths were determined to vary linearly with the specific absorbance. The diffraction efficiencies and bandwidths of the holograms produced increased as the concentration of the ammonium dichromate in the sensitizing bath was increased. The implications of the results for the production of highly efficient volume holograms were discussed.