Determining the optical properties and simulating the radiation shielding parameters of Dy³⁺ doped lithium yttrium borate glasses

In this study the optical parameters and radiation shielding competence of a new glass system is presented. The chemical architecture of the glasses are given as 60Li2O3-10Y2O3-(30-x)B2O3-xDy2O3 (where x = 0.05, 0.5, and 1.5 mol% for LYBD1–3 glass samples). The molar refractivity RMol, molar polarizability αm × 10−24 cm−3, reflectance loss RL, and optical transmission TOpt values were influenced by the chemical description of the glasses. The RMol, αm × 10−24 cm−3, and TOpt all increased as Dy2O3 increased while on the other hand, the reflectance loss declined. The radiation shielding competence of the glasses were investigated through quantities such as the linear attenuation coefficient LAC, mass attenuation coefficient MAC, effective atomic number Zeff, half value layer HVL, and mean free path MFP for photons while the fast neutron removal cross section ΣR was used for fast neutron. The LAC values of the glasses were evaluated through FLUKA simulations and validated through XCOM computation for photon energies 0.284–2.506 MeV. LAC changes from 0.3105 to 0.1016 cm−1 for LYBD1, 0.3239 to 0.1032 cm−1, for LYBD2, and 0.3504 to 0.1040 cm−1 within the energy investigated spectrum. Also, the magnitude of Zeff fluctuates with energy and ranges from 7.53 to 8.38 for LYBD1, while for LYBD2, the variation is from 7.77 to 8.82, and 8.13 to 9.78 for LYBD3. Other evaluated photon shielding parameters showed that the increment of Dy2O3 had a positive influence on the photon shielding capacity of the glasses. The trend of the fast neutron removal cross section ΣR is such that LYBD1 > LYBD2 > LYBD3 with values varying from 0.1064 to 0.1103 cm−1. Comparing the gamma-ray and fast neutron absorbing efficiency of the LYBD glasses with common radiation shields revealed that: the LYBD glasses shield photons and moderate fast neutrons better than some common shields. The LYBD glasses consequently showed good potential for radiation shielding applications. The optical transparency of the glasses also makes them attractive candidates as transparent shields in medical applications of photons.