This article provides an overview of the latest results in the field of improving the properties of multiatomic inorganic oxide compounds for scintillators. A possibility to control the spatial distribution of nonequilibrium carriers in the ionization track by creating a compositional disorder in the crystalline matrix is in focus. Managing the disorder at the nanoscale level creates an opportunity for the efficient energy loss by carriers during thermalization, smaller spatial dispersion, and, consequently, more efficient binding into excitons and, further, an increase in the scintillation yield. The methods to produce multicationic crystalline scintillation materials have been discussed. The effectiveness of the approach is confirmed for both activated and self-activated scintillation materials.

Dense and transparent ceramic samples of a (Gd,Y)₃Al₂Ga₃O₁₂:Ce scintillator were obtained by using stereolithography-based Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D printing for compacting, subsequent burnout, and pressureless sintering. The effects of stoichiometric deviations and green body compaction methods (uniaxial pressing versus DLP 3D printing) on the optical, luminescent, and scintillation properties of ceramics were analyzed. An excess of Y and Gd in the composition led to an increase in transmittance and to the acceleration of the scintillation kinetics. Moreover, transparent ceramics made of 3D-printed green bodies were found to be superior in light yield to the samples, which were prepared from the same powders and densified by uniaxial pressing.

A method to create compositionally disordered compounds with a high number of cations in the matrices, that utilize the cubic spatial symmetry of the garnet-type crystalline systems is demonstrated. Mixtures of the garnet-type powdered materials solely doped with Ce were used to create atomic compositions of high complexity. Several mixed systems, namely Gd₃Al₂Ga₃O₁₂/(Gd,Y)₃Al₂Ga₃O₁₂, Y₃Al₅O₁₂/Gd₃Al₂Ga₃O₁₂, and Y₃Al₅O₁₂/Y₃Al₂Ga₃O₁₂ were annealed, compacted and sintered in air. The materials were evaluated for structural, luminescence, and scintillation properties. It was demonstrated that the properties of the resulting ceramics are a little dependent on the granularity of powders when the median particle size is below ~5 μm.

The production of scintillating ceramics can require the utilization of the phosphorus compounds at certain stages of 3D-printing, such as vat polymerization, applied for the formation of green bodies before sintering. The effect of phosphorus additive on the microstructure, optical, and scintillation parameters of Gd₁.₄₉₄Y₁.₄₉₄ Ce₀.₀₁₂Al₂Ga₃O₁₂ (GYAGG:Ce) ceramics obtained by pressureless sintering at 1650 °C in an oxygen atmosphere was investigated for the first time. Phosphorus was introduced in the form of NH₄H₂PO₄ into the initial hydroxycarbonate precipitate in a wide concentration range (from 0 to 0.6 wt.%). With increasing of phosphorus concentration, the density and the optical transmittance of garnet ceramics show a decrease, which is caused by an increase in the number of pores and inclusions. The light yield of fast scintillation, which is caused by Ce³⁺ ions, was found to be affected by the phosphorus additive as well. Moreover, an increase in phosphorescence intensity was recognized.