LaCl3 crystal has UCl3 type structure, space group P63/m, and it has attracted much attention for its high light output as well as good energy resolution. These unique properties made LaCl3 crystal a promising material as scintillator in the field of high-energy physics experiments and medical imaging, as well. LaCl3 (doped with 10% Ce3+) has a very high light output (49,000 photons/MeV), and fast principle decay time constant (26 ns) . These properties make LaCl3:Ce a very promising material for gamma-ray spectroscopy.

LaCl3 crystal belongs to hexagonal system, density is 3.8g/cm3. Its energy resolution is 3.1%, decay time With 26 ns and a time resolution of 224 ps, there is almost no damage after exposure to gamma rays up to 3 kGy. Such excellent scintillation performance is very rare in inorganic compounds. The energy is 60 keV to 1275 keV. Under the excitation of γ-ray source, the nonlinear response coefficient of light output is 7%, which is far superior to LSO:Ce crystal (35%), NaI: Tl crystal (15%) and CsI: Tl (20%). Based on its good numbers, this scintillation material can find its place in such applications as medical imaging, nuclear physics, X-ray diffraction, non-destructive evaluation, treaty verification and safeguards, environmental monitoring, and geological exploration.