Optical properties and radiation shielding features of Er3+ ions doped B2O3–SiO2–Gd2O3–CaO glasses

Abstract The role of Er3+ ions on the optical properties and radiation shielding features of (55-x)B2O3–10SiO2−25Gd2O3–10CaO−xEr2O3: (Er-glasses) with x = 0 (Er-0.0) to 2.5 (Er-2.5) mol% glasses was investigated. The Metallization criterion (Mcriterion) was found to vary from 0.5356 to 0.5346, while the static dielectric constant (estatic) varied from 2.7340 to 2.7406 for Er-0.0 to Er-2.5 glasses. The optical electronegativity (χ*) decreased from 0.9085 to 0.8440, the nonlinear refractive index ( n 2 o p t i c a l ) increased from 1.4075 × 10−12 to 1.4274 × 10−12 (esu), and the nonlinear optical susceptibility (χ3) increased from 6.1765 × 10−14 to 6.2714 × 10−14 (esu) with increasing Er2O3 from 0 to 2.5 mol%. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) for the Er-glasses has been calculated via the Phy-X/PSD program. The highest MAC was found at 0.284 MeV, and was equal to 0.197 cm2/g for Er-0.0, 0.199 cm2/g for Er-0.5, 0.200 cm2/g for Er-1.0, 0.201 cm2/g for Er-1.5, 0.202 cm2/g for Er-2.0 and 0.204 cm2/g for Er-2.5. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) has the following order: (Er-2.5)LAC > (Er-2.0)LAC > (Er-1.5)LAC > (Er-1.0)LAC > (Er-0.5)LAC> (Er-0.0)LAC. The RPE for the Er-2.5 glass was found to increase from 35.06% (for x = 0.5 cm) to 82.20% (for x = 2 cm) at 0.284 MeV. At the selected energies, the transmission factor (TF) decreased with the addition of Er2O3. The half value layer (HVL) of the Er-0.0-Er2.5 samples tended to decrease with the increase in Er2O3 content. The tenth value layer (TVL) decreased from 2.919 to 2.667 cm at 0.284 MeV as the Er2O3 increases from 0 to 2.5 mol%, while at 0.511 MeV it decreased from 5.771 to 5.377 cm. The results revealed that the Er-glasses can be applied for optical and radiation shielding uses.