Radiation shielding capacity of Li2O-SiO2/GeO2 glasses doped with rare earth oxides: Nuclear security applications

In the present work, the ionizing radiation (namely, gamma-rays, charged particles, and neutrons) attenuation parameters of Li2O-SiO2 (denoted as LS) and Li2O-SiO2-GeO2 glasses doped with Y2O3 and In2O3 (LGY and LGI) glasses were estimated and analyzed with the aim of exploring their shielding potentials. The gamma-ray transmission attenuation coefficient was simulated by the FLUKA code and also estimated by XCOM. Also, the stopping powers and ranges of electrons, protons, alpha-particles, and carbon ions were estimated for particle kinetic energies within 15-15000 keV. The fast and thermal (25 meV) neutron cross-sections were estimated for the three glasses. At 15 MeV, the mass attenuation coefficient is 0.019, 0.021 and 0.022 cm2/g while the linear attenuation coefficient magnitude varied within the range of 0.047-11.564 cm-1, 0.061-32.008 cm-1 and 0.068-38.122 cm-1 for LS, LGY, and LGI, respectively. The effective atomic number varied from 8.21 to 12.00 for LS, 8.71-22.71 for LGY, and 8.78-26.37 for LGI. Likewise, the charged particle shielding ability of the glasses was in the order: LS < LGY < LGI. This trend was conserved for the neutrons' cross-sections. Compared to conventional and recently researched shields, LS, LGY, and LGI present viable alternative glass shields in nuclear radiation applications.

Automated summary

The ionizing radiation attenuation parameters of Li2O-SiO2 and Li2O-SiO2-GeO2 glasses doped with Y2O3 and In2O3 were estimated and analyzed. The shielding potentials of the glasses for gamma-rays, charged particles, and neutrons were explored. The results showed that the glasses had effective shielding abilities and could be viable alternative shields in nuclear radiation applications.