This table provides important information regarding the physical properties of various scintillation materials and their common applications. A scintillation detector is often “tailor-made” for a specific experiment and application. For the detection of radiation, a great number of possibilities exist. Scintillators are often used for the detection of alpha and beta particles or electromagnetic radiation like gamma-rays or X-rays.
| Material | Important Properties | Major Application |
| NaI(Tl) | Very high light output, good energy resolution | General scintillation counting, Health Physics, environmental monitoring, high-temperature use |
| CsI(Tl) | Non-hygroscopic, rugged | Particle and high energy physics, general radiation detection, photodiode readout |
| CsI(Na) | High light output, rugged | Geophysical, general radiation detection |
| CsI(undoped) | Fast, non-hygroscopic | Physics (calorimetry) |
| CaF2(Eu) | Low Z, high light output | β detectors, α/β phoswiches |
| Cs2LiYCl6:Ce (CLYC) | Neutron detection capability & High resolution | Nuclear identifiers, Physics |
| LaCl3:Ce(0.9) | Very high light output, very good energy resolution | High-resolution scintillation spectroscopy, & Health Physics environmental monitoring |
| CeBr3 | Very high light output, very good energy resolution, low background | High-resolution spectroscopy, low background applications |
| 6Lil(Eu) | High neutron cross-section, high light output | Thermal neutron detection and spectroscopy |
| SrI2(Eu) | Bright, high resolution scintillator | High-resolution gamma Spectroscopy |
| 6Li-glass | High neutron cross-section, nonhygroscopic | Physics, security |
| BaF2 | Ultra-fast sub-ns UV emission | Thermal neutral detection |
| YAP(Ce) | High light output, low Z, fast | Positron lifetime studies, physics, fast timing |
| LYSO | High density and Z, fast | MHz-X-ray spectroscopy, synchrotron physics |
| BGO | High density and Z | Physics research, PET, High Energy Physics |
| CdWO4 | Very high density, low afterglow & slow decay times | Particle physics, geophysical research PET, & anti-Compton spectrometers. |
| PbWO4 | Fast, high density, low afterglow | DC measurement of X-rays (high intensity), readout with photodiodes, Computerized Tomography (CT) |
| Plastics | Fast, low density and Z high light output | Physics research (calorimetry) general counting, particle and neutron detection. |
