Physics and Engineering of Radiation Detection

356 Chapter 6. Scintillation Detectors and Photodetectors

Table 6.3.1: Densityρ, wavelength of maximum emissionλmax, decay timeτ,and
light yielddN/dEof some commonly used inorganic scintillators ((10) and other
references therein).

Crystal ρ(gcm−^3 ) λmax(nm) τ(μs) (× 103 )dN/dE

MeV−^1

NaI:Tl 3.67 410 0.23 41

CsI:Tl 4.51 550 0.8-6 66

CsI:Na 4.51 420 0.63 40

LaCl 3 :Ce 3.86 330 0.025(65%) 46

LaBr 3 :Ce 5.3 358 0.035(90%) 61

Bi 4 Ge 3 O 12 (BGO) 7.1 480 0.30 9

CaHfO 3 :Ce 7.5 390 0.04 10

CdWO 4 (CWO) 7.9 495 5 20

YAlO 3 :Ce(YAP) 5.5 350 0.03 21

LuAlO 3 :Ce(LuAP) 8.3 365 0.018 12

Lu 2 Si 2 O 7 :Ce(LPS) 6.2 380 0.03 30

Lu 2 SiO 5 :Ce(LSO) 7.4 420 0.04 26

Gd 2 SiO 5 :Ce(GSO) 6.7 440 0.06 8

Gd 2 O 2 S:Pr(UFC) 7.3 510 3 50

Gd 2 O 2 S:Tb 7.3 545 1000 60

NaI:Tlhas been used in a variety of applications including medicine, physics,
and environmental science. In fact, it has been termed as the standard scintillation
material for a long time. Since, as we saw earlier, the properties of scintillators can
be changed by varying doping levels thereforeNaI:Tlis usually tuned according to
the application.