Manufacturing, Optical, Dielectric, and Gamma-Attenuation Characteristics of Phosphate Glasses Doped with Lanthanum and Erbium

This paper focuses on the role of erbium and lanthanum oxides in the radiation, electrical, and optical attenuating characteristics of 60P₂O₅-20Li₂O-15ZnO-5Bi₂O₃. When a specific ratio of Er₂O₃ and La₂O₃ is used in place of P₂O₅, the density rises to 2.9937 g/cm³ from 2.9223 g/cm³. For the glasses under investigation, the dielectric constant (ε') and tan δ are investigated over the frequency ranging from 50 Hz to 5 MHz. The magnitude of (ε') declines as the concentrations of Er and La ions rise to 0.5 mol%. Then it rises for more La concentration. In UV–Vis-NIR, the variations in transmission and reflectance spectrum across wavelength (λ) were examined. The addition of Er₂O₃ and La₂O₃ doping into the phosphate glass system had an impact on the system's optical characteristics, absorption extinction coefficient (k), index of refraction (n), and optical dielectric constant included real and imaginary components (ε₁ and ε₂). The recently created Phy-X/PSD as well as XCOM programs were used to test the prepared glasses' shielding capabilities. The current samples' radiation-shielding capabilities were investigated in terms of mean free path, effective atomic number, effective electron density, exposure buildup and energy absorption factors parameters in energy region of 0.015–15 MeV up to depths of penetration of 40 mfp. The outcomes demonstrated that the quantity of lanthanum and erbium oxides had a significant impact on the material's capacity to protect against gamma radiation. Furthermore, a comparison was made between the acquired results and standard radiation shields. We conclude that the current glasses, whose erbium and lanthanum concentrations may be adjusted to suit the intended application, have an exciting future as radiation shielding materials.