Comments on "Absolute linearity measurements on a PbS detector in the infrared".
A recent publication [Appl. Opt. 45, 2381 (2006)] on detector nonlinearity contains serious misunderstandings of an earlier work [Appl. Spectrosc. 51, 576 (1997)] with regard to the relative importance of photon flux versus photon irradiance as the major cause of these nonlinearities. This comment provides some clarification for the readers to correctly understand the techniques used in the 1997 paper and explains why the Theocharous statement was incorrect.
Zhang
Zhuomin M
ZM
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA. zhuomin.zhang@me.gatech.edu