  Simulations of photon propagation in scintillation detectors were performed
with the aim to find the optimal scintillator geometry, surface treatment, and
shape of external reflector in order to achieve maximum light collection
efficiency for detector configurations that avoid direct optical coupling, a
situation that is commonly found in cryogenic scintillating bolometers in
experimental searches for double beta decay and dark matter. To evaluate the
light collection efficiency of various geometrical configurations we used the
ZEMAX ray-tracing software. It was found that scintillators in the shape of a
triangular prism with an external mirror shaped as truncated cone gives the
highest light collection efficiency. The results of the simulations were
confirmed by carrying out measurements of the light collection efficiencies of
CaWO4 crystal scintillators. A comparison of simulated and measured values of
light output shows good agreement
