---
title: August 17th, 2021 - Scintillation Crystals - Customized Detectors - Common Applications
date: 2021-08-17T21:38:46Z
modified: 2025-10-01T04:48:28Z
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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. |