HIDs are sensitive to a broad range of components. They must use helium as a carrier gas.
HID is classified as a mass sensitive detector, which means that the analyte is destroyed during reaction. Therefore, it is considered a destructive detector.
The drawback to HIDs are that they contain a radioactive source. In the U.S., this means they fall under a number of federal regulations concerning their use in the workplace, shipping, disposal, etc. Discharge ionization detectors have generally supplanted them.