inorganic scintillator
Quick Summary
Inorganic scintillators are transparent crystalline materials used in radiation detection. When ionizing radiation interacts with these materials, they emit flashes of light, known as scintillations. These light flashes are then converted into electrical signals by a photomultiplier tube or photodiode, allowing for the detection and measurement of radiation.123
Common inorganic scintillators include sodium iodide activated with thallium [NaI(Tl)] and cesium iodide activated with thallium [CsI(Tl)]. While NaI(Tl) offers a high light output and a relatively fast decay time, CsI(Tl) has a longer decay time but is better suited for photodiodes. These materials are valuable in gamma-ray spectroscopy due to their large photoelectric cross-section and availability in large sizes, which leads to high detection efficiency. However, scintillators generally have poorer energy resolution compared to semiconductor detectors due to statistical fluctuations in the light and charge conversion process.12
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