Global Scintillation Crystals Market acquired the significant revenue of 332.8 Million in and expected to be worth around USD 629.5 Million by with the CAGR of 6.0% during the forecast period of to . The scintillation crystals market, encompassing one of the main drivers of the global radiation detection industry, growth is provoked by the rising demand for developing detection devices used in fields like healthcare, defense, nuclear energy, and environmental monitoring. Scintillation crystals are actually materials that glow when exposed to ionizing radiation to provide flashes of light that are used in devices such as scintillation detectors, gamma camera, and PET scanners.
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It is growing at a progressive rate due to advances in technological ownership, especially in communicating medical structures such as cancers and cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, increased usage of nuclear power plants and the increased concern about the use of radiation are other factors promoting the consumption of scintillation crystals.
Scintillators are widely used in industries due to technological advancement that has increased energy resolution and efficiency of scintillation crystals. Improvement of energy resolution make detection of low energy gamma photons and other types of radiations precise needed for medical applications, nuclear security, and defense. For example, mature output technologies, such as LYSO and cerium-doped crystals, output more light and have a faster decay, leading to higher sensitivity and better image resolution in diagnostic imaging application including the use in PET and SPECT scanners. These improvement lead to early identification and proper diagnosis of diseases especially cancer, hence improving the quality of care of patient. In defense and security, advanced scintillation crystals make the radiation detection systems more efficient, for the better tracking of nuclear and radiological items.
The use of rare materials in the production of certain scintillation crystals presents a significant challenge for the market. Materials such as thallium, lithium, and certain lanthanides, which are commonly used in high-performance scintillation crystals, are often scarce or expensive to source. This limited availability can drive up production costs, making the crystals more expensive for end-users and potentially limiting their adoption, especially in price-sensitive industries or emerging markets. The extraction and refinement of these rare materials can also be resource-intensive, leading to supply chain vulnerabilities and price fluctuations.
The growing use of radiation detection technologies in non-medical applications is driving significant market expansion for scintillation crystals beyond traditional healthcare and nuclear industries. In the security sector, scintillation crystals are increasingly employed in devices designed to detect illicit trafficking of radioactive materials, enhancing national and global security efforts. These systems are used in border security, airports, and ports to ensure the safe handling and transport of radioactive substances. In industrial monitoring, scintillation crystals are utilized to assess radiation levels in manufacturing processes, nuclear waste management, and the production of materials like semiconductors, where radiation monitoring is crucial for quality control and worker safety.
The integration of scintillation crystals into advanced technologies, such as portable radiation detection systems and wearable devices for personal radiation monitoring, represents a significant trend in the market. As the need for mobility, real-time monitoring, and personal safety increases, portable radiation detectors using scintillation crystals are becoming more widespread in applications ranging from healthcare to security and industrial environments. These compact, lightweight devices enable users to detect radiation in the field, offering immediate readings and enhancing the ability to respond to radiation exposure quickly and effectively. Similarly, wearable devices incorporating scintillation crystals for personal radiation monitoring are gaining traction, particularly in industries where workers are at risk of radiation exposure, such as healthcare, nuclear power, and research labs.
oOrganic Crystals
oInorganic Crystals
oMedical and Healthcare
oMilitary and Defense
oNuclear and Power Plants
oOther Applications
On the basis of type, the market is divided into organic crystals and inorganic crystals. Among these, inorganic crystals segment acquired the significant share in the market owing to their superior performance characteristics, such as higher light output, better energy resolution, and faster decay times compared to organic crystals. Inorganic scintillation crystals, such as sodium iodide (NaI) and lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO), are known for their high efficiency in detecting ionizing radiation, making them particularly suitable for high-precision applications in medical imaging, nuclear monitoring, and defense.
On the basis of application, the market is divided into medical and healthcare, military and defense, nuclear and power plants, and other applications. Among these, medical and healthcare segment held the prominent share of the market due to the increasing demand for advanced radiation detection technologies in medical imaging and diagnostic systems, such as PET (positron emission tomography) and SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography) scanners. Scintillation crystals play a crucial role in these imaging systems, where their high efficiency and energy resolution help provide precise and accurate diagnostic information, especially in the detection of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological conditions. The growing prevalence of chronic diseases and the rising adoption of non-invasive diagnostic techniques have significantly boosted the demand for scintillation crystals in healthcare applications.
North America held the most of the share of 32.1% of the market due to the region's advanced healthcare infrastructure, significant investments in nuclear energy, and robust defense sectors. The United States, in particular, is a leading consumer of scintillation crystals, driven by its strong demand for medical imaging technologies, such as PET and SPECT scanners, used for early disease detection and diagnostics.
Additionally, the region’s established nuclear power plants and increasing efforts to enhance radiation safety and monitoring have further fueled the demand for scintillation crystals in nuclear applications. North America's advanced military and defense industries also contribute to the market's dominance, as scintillation crystals are integral in radiation detection systems used for security and defense purposes.
The competitive landscape of the global scintillation crystals market is marked by the presence of several key players, each focusing on technological advancements, product innovation, and strategic partnerships to maintain their market position. Major companies in the market, such as Saint-Gobain, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Hitachi High-Tech, Elysium Industries, and PMT (Photomultiplier Tube) Corporation, are actively investing in research and development to enhance the performance and efficiency of their scintillation crystals. These companies are focused on improving energy resolution, light output, and durability to meet the growing demand across healthcare, defense, and industrial applications.
In November , Tibidabo Scientific Industries introduced a new line of high-efficiency scintillation crystals, enhancing radiation detection capabilities in medical and security applications.
oAmerican Elements
oOptogama
oStanford Advanced Materials
oEpic Crystal
oHangzhou Shalom Electro-Optics Technology Co. Ltd
oWALLSON
oAdvatech UK Ltd
oJiaxing AOSITE Photonics Technology Co. Ltd.
oCrylink
Interactions in scintillation materials
Electromagnetic radiation can interact with matter via 1. photoelectric effect, 2. Compton effect or 3. pair production. Effect 3 only occurs at energies above 1.02 MeV. In practice, all effects have a chance to occur, this chance being proportional to the energy of the radiation and the atomic number (Z-value) of the absorber (the scintillation material).
In the Photoelectric effect, all energy of the radiation is converted into light. This effect is important when determining the actual energy of the impinging X-ray or gamma-ray photons. The lower the energy and the higher the Z-value, the larger the chance on photo effect.
In real applications several interaction processes play a role.
Fig. 2.1 shows a typical pulse height spectrum measured with a 76 mm diameter, 76 mm high NaI(Tl) crystal in which the radiation emitted by a 137Cs source is detected. The photopeak, Compton maximum and backscatter peak are indicated. The lines around 30 keV are Ba X-rays also emitted by the source.
The total detection efficiency (counting efficiency) of a scintillator depends on the size, thickness and density of the scintillation material. However, the photopeak counting efficiency, important for e.g. gamma-ray spectroscopy, is a strong function of and increases with the Z4-5 of the scintillator. At energies below 100 keV, electromagnetic interactions are dominated by the photoelectric effect.
Electrons (e.g. β-particles) can be backscattered from a material which implies that no energy is lost in the interaction process and the particle is not detected at all. The backscattering fraction is proportional to the Z of the material. For NaI(Tl) the backscatter fraction can be as high as 30% .! This implies that for efficient detection of electrons, low Z materials such as plastic scintillators or e.g. CaF2:Eu or YAP:Ce are preferred. Also the window material is of importance.
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Scintillation responce to Gamma-raysa. Pulse height spectrometry
The basic principle of pulse height spectroscopy is that the light output of a scintillator is proportional to the energy deposited in the scintillation material. The standard way to detect scintillation light is to couple a scintillator to a photomultiplier. Furthermore, a γray spectrometer usually consists of a preamplifier, a main (spectroscopy) amplifier and a multichannel analyzer (MCA). The electronics amplifies the PMT charge pulse resulting in a voltage pulse suited to detect and analyze with the MCA. The schematic is shown in below.
Alternatively, currently available digital techniques allow to directly digitize the (pre-amplified) pulses of the light detector (e.g. PMT or SiPm). Often programmable FPGA’s are used for this. The optimum digital filtering constant (just as analog shaping time) depends on the speed of the scintillation material.
The combination of a 14 pins scintillation detector and a so-called “digital base” allows to construct a compact gamma spectrometer that can be operated via a USB or Ethernet port of a computer.
b. Energy resolution, proportionality
An important aspect of a Gamma-ray spectrometer is the ability to discriminate between Gamma-rays with slightly different energy. This quality is characterized by the socalled energy resolution which is defined as the (relative) width at half the height of the photopeak at a certain energy.
Besides by the γ-ray energy, the energy resolution is influenced by :
At low energies where photoelectron statistics dominate the energy resolution, the energy resolution is roughly inverse proportional to the square root of the γ-ray energy.
In principle, the amount of light a scintillator emits per unit energy as a function of the energy is constant. However this is not the physical reality. This so called non-proportionality is vastly different for different scintillators and in the classic alkali halides it provides the limitation of the energy resolution in the MeV energy range. Below the proportionality of some typical scintillation materials is shown.
Gamma ray interaction in materials includes photo-electric effect, Compton effect and pair production. Usually a combination of several of them takes place. Gamma ray interaction n materials results in the production of energetic electrons. A non-proportional electron energy versus light response leads to a broadening of the photopeaks.
Ref. W. Mengesha, T.D. Taulbee, B .D. Rooney, and J.D. Valentine.Light Yield
Nonproportionality of CsI(Tl), CsI(Na), and YAP IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. vol 45, no. 3,
() pp. 456–461
.
Scintillator proportionality is a material constant, different for each material
As such the energy resolution of a scintillator can be described with the formula below :
Term 1 is the proportionality; term 2 the contribution by the statistics (amount of light produced per interaction) and term 3 inhomogeneity effects in for example PMT or scintillator.
The energy resolution of a scintillation detector is a true detector property, limited by the physical characteristics of the scintillator and the PMT or other readout device.
A typical energy resolution for 662 keV γrays absorbed in small NaI(Tl) detectors is 7.0 % FWHM. At low energies, e.g. at 5.9 keV, a typical value is 40 % FWHM. At these low energies, surface treatment of the scintillation crystal strongly influences the resolution. It may be clear that especially at low energies, scintillation detectors are low resolution devices unlike Si(Li) or HPGe detectors.
The use of more proportional crystals like e.g. LaBr3:Ce, LBC, CeBr3 or SrI2(Eu) allows to achieve energy resolution numbers at 662 keV gamma rays down to the 3-4 % level. In the section on high resolution crystals more details are provided on proportional scintillation Crystals.
c. Time resolution
The time resolution of a scintillation detector reflects the ability to define accurately the moment of absorption of a radiation quantum in the detector.
The light pulse of a scintillator is characterized by a rise time and by a 1/e fall time τ (decay time see the section on scintillation properties It is obvious that the best time definition of an absorption event is obtained when the scintillation pulse is short (small decay time) and intense. Furthermore, the rise time and time jitter (also called transit time spread, TTS) of the PMT and of the electronics are important. For semiconductor readout similar properties apply.
Small cm size NaI(Tl) detectors have typical time resolutions of a few nanoseconds for 60Co (1.2 MeV). Much better time resolutions can be attained with organic – or BaF2 scintillation crystals. BaF2 is presently the fastest known inorganic scintillator with detector time resolutions of a few hundred picoseconds. Also Cerium bromide (CeBr3) scintillators allow comparable time resolutions.
d. Peak-to-valley ratio
A sensitive way to check the energy resolution of a scintillation detector is to define a so-called peak-to-valley (P/V) in the energy spectrum. This criteria is not depending on any possible offsets in the signal. Either the peak-to-valley between two gamma peaks is taken or the ratio between a low energy peak and the PMT / electronical noise.
A good P/V ratio for a 76 x 76 mm NaI(Tl) crystal is 10:1. This is equivalent to an energy resolution of 7.0% at 662 keV. At 5.9 keV, a high quality NaI(Tl) X-ray detector can have a P/V ratio of 40:1.
e. Spectrum stabilization
Large count rate changes and temperature variations may cause peak position variations in a spectrum. This effect is unavoidable in scintillation detectors since the light output of the scintillator and light detector amplification is (in most cases) temperature dependent.
An additional program in the case of photomultiplier readout is hysteresis and memory effects in PMTs which complicates correction algorithms. In silicon photomultipliers this effect is not present.
To compensate for these effects it is possible to calibrate the peak position with a so-called Am-pulser.
This is a very small radioactive 241Am source mounted inside a scintillation detector. The α-particles, emitted by the 241Am, cause scintillations in the crystal that are detected by the PMT (or the photodiode) of the detector. For NaI(Tl), the α-peak is situated between a Gamma Equivalent Energy (GEE) of 1.5 and 3.5 MeV and can be specified. Count rates are typically 50, 100 or 200 cps. The position of the pulser peak is used as a reference to compensate for the above mentioned variations in detector response.
The above way of calibration is not ideal since the response of most scintillation crystals for Gamma-rays and α-particles is different. However, a second order compensation using e.g. a thermistor is only necessary for large temperature ranges.
For occasionally monitoring your system integrity, Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) or laser ports can also be used. LEDs can be mounted inside scintillation detectors or a window for that purpose can be provided. Some special systems exist that intrinsically stabilize gain of the detector by injecting pulsed LED light into the light detector and by comparing it to the signal of a (stable) built-in semiconductor detector.
Besides the above described ways of pulse height stabilization, it is of course also possible to stabilize electronically on the peak of an (always present) external source. Sometimes the 40K background line can be used for this purpose.