Saturation is what happens when a pixel generates too many electrons. After a pixel exceeds its pixel well depth, the signal from the pixel stops increasing with more photons. The stored electrons can even start “leaking” into neighboring pixels and distorting the signal. It is often seen in a spectrum as a “flat top” plateau where a peak would be expected or the spectrum continuing off screen when zoomed out fully. To keep pixels from saturating, either reduce the intensity of the light hitting the detector, or decrease the exposure time.
