Rare Earth Oxyorthosilicate Scintillation Crystals

A method of making a scintillator component, comprising:

• growing a volume of the monocrystalline scintillator material from a melt by forming a substantially cylindrical boule from the melt, the substantially cylindrical boule having a longitudinal axis generally aligned with a first predetermined crystallographic axis;
• cutting a slab from the boule, the slab having a top and bottom surfaces defining a longitudinal axis generally aligned with a first predetermined crystallographic axis;
• cutting an elongated monocrystalline scintillator element from the slab, the elongated scintillator element having a longitudinal axis at least generally aligned with the first predetermined crystallographic axis;
• and
• subjecting the slab to annealing under one or more predetermined conditions,
• the predetermined crystallographic axis being selected at least partially to achieve a predetermined minimum value of, or amount of improvement in, a scintillation property of the elongated scintillator element by the annealing under the one or more predetermined conditions.