In some embodiments, an apparatus and a system, as well as a method, may operate to transform photons received at a scintillator into scintillation energy at a light yield efficiency of at least 30% at temperatures above 150 C. Further activities may include converting the scintillation energy to electron-hole pairs within a pixelated array of a position-sensitive detector having a bandgap of at least 2 eV. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are described.