Silver halide sensitized gelatin derived from BB-640 holographic emulsion

Silver halide sensitized gelatin (SHSG) is one of the most interesting tech niques for the production of holographic optical elements, achieving relati vely high sensitivity of photographic material with a low scattering of dic hromated gelatin. Here we present experimental results for SHSG derived fro m the novel BB-640, a red-sensitive ultra-fine-grain emulsion from Holograp hic Recording Technologies (Steinau, Germany). The material is characterize d before recording and after processing, and information about the thicknes s, absorption, and refractive-index modulation of the final holograms is ob tained. The influence of the developer is analyzed, and diffraction efficie ncies as great as 96.2% (after allowing for reflections) with a transmissio n of 1% and absorption and scatter losses of 2.8% are obtained with AAC dev eloper. Our investigations reveal that high-quality SHSG transmission holog rams may be obtained with the new BE-640 plates. (C) 1999 Optical Society o f America. OCIS codes: 090.2900, 090.7330, 230.1950, 040.5190.