A detector efficiency curve shows how efficient a detector is at converting photons into digital signal. Below is a typical efficiency curve for StellarNet detectors:
Absolute efficiency (%) is plotted versus wavelength. At ~475 nm, the efficiency is 100%. This means that all of the 475 nm photons are converted to digital signal.
Experimental Considerations: This curve only shows the efficiency of the detector. Each optical element in the spectrometer also has an efficiency associated with it. The overall efficiency of the spectrometer is the combined efficiency of all the elements. For example, the above detector is highly efficient at 475 nm, but if the grating is not efficient at 475 nm, the spectrometer will not be efficient at 475 nm.
