Influence of Alkaline Earth Metals on the Optical Properties and Radiation-Shielding Effectiveness of Sm 3+ -Doped Zinc Borophosphate Glasses

In this work, the optical and radiation-shielding characteristics of Sm 3+ -doped alkaline earth zinc borophosphate glasses with the chemical description 30ZnO-15B 2 O 3 -44P 2 O 5 -1Sm 2 O 3 -10 A O [where A = Mg (MZBPS), Ca (C-ZBPS), Sr (S-ZBPS), and Ba (B-ZBPS)] were investigated. The mass attenuation coefficients ( μ / ρ ) of the glasses were estimated using data generated from the FLUKA Monte Carlo code and from the NIST XCOM database. Optical parameters and neutron cross-sections were obtained using standard theoretical models. The μ / ρ of M-ZBPS, C-ZBPS, S-ZBPS, and B-ZBPS varied in the range of 0.124–21.912 cm 2 /g, 0.024–22.564 cm 2 /g, 0.025–22.163 cm 2 /g, and 0.026–27.150 cm 2 /g, respectively. Also, the cross-section for fast neutron removal in M-ZBPS, C-ZBPS, S-ZBPS, and B-ZBPS was 0.0956 cm −1 , 0.0949 cm −1 , 0.0948 cm −1 , and 0.0953 cm −1 , respectively. The thermal neutron cross-section values were in the order M-ZBPS < C-ZBPS < S-ZBPS < B-ZBPS. The analysis of the optical parameters indicated that the optical density of the glasses increased as the atomic weight of the alkaline earth metal and glass density increased. The X-ZBPS glasses demonstrated good photon-shielding ability and optical properties, making them attractive for modern technical applications.