The scintillator Is a part of the electron collection system in most SEMs and other types of electron imaging systems. Without a properly functioning scintillator, images may be noisy, weak, or exhibit other signs of degradation.

There are three types of scintillators generally used in the SEM: organic/polymeric, phosphor powder, and crystalline (single or poly).

Plastic scintillators are currently used less frequently, mainly because they are subject to radiation damage (i.e., short lifetime). This type of scintillator has the shortest decay time (~2.2 - 5 ns) and very low noise. We still have many customers who prefer this type of scintillator even though they have to change it more frequently (∼2 - 6 month lifetime with average use is our experience).