The primary scientific mission of the Black Hole Finder Probe (BHFP), part of
the NASA Beyond Einstein program, is to survey the local Universe for black
holes over a wide range of mass and accretion rate. One approach to such a
survey is a hard X-ray coded-aperture imaging mission operating in the 10--600
keV energy band, a spectral range that is considered to be especially useful in
the detection of black hole sources. The development of new inorganic
scintillator materials provides improved performance (for example, with regards
to energy resolution and timing) that is well suited to the BHFP science
requirements. Detection planes formed with these materials coupled with a new
generation of readout devices represent a major advancement in the performance
capabilities of scintillator-based gamma cameras. Here, we discuss the Coded
Aperture Survey Telescope for Energetic Radiation (CASTER), a concept that
represents a BHFP based on the use of the latest scintillator technology.
