Influence of Er³⁺-doped ions on the linear/nonlinear optical characteristics and radiation shielding features of TeO₂-ZnO-Er₂O₃ glasses

Effect of Er³⁺-doped ions on the mechanical, linear/nonlinear optical properties and radiation shielding features of \(\left[ {\left( {{\text{TeO}}_{{2}} } \right)_{{0.{7}}} \left( {{\text{ZnO}}} \right)_{{0.{3}}} } \right]_{{{1}00 - {\text{x}}}} \left( {{\text{Er}}_{{2}} {\text{O}}_{{3}} } \right)_{{\text{x}}}\) at different molar fractions, x = 0 to 5 mol% (TZE-A to TZE-F) glasses were reported. Molar polarizability (α^Mol.) increased from 7.796 × 10⁻²⁴ to 8.570 × 10⁻²⁴ cm³, while the molar reflectivity (R^Mol.) increased from 19.647 to 21.598 (cm³mol⁻¹) as the Er³⁺ ions content increased from 0 to 5 mol%. Metallization property (M^Cri.) varied from 0.235 to 0.192, while the transmission factor (T^Opt.) decreased from 0.644 to 0.589. The dielectric constant (ε^Sta.) varied from 7.503 to 9.404, the nonlinear refractive index n₂^Opt. varied from 1.680 × 10⁻¹⁰ to 4.187 × 10⁻¹⁰ esu. Gamma/beta shielding features of the chosen glasses (TZE-A, TZE-B, TZE-C, TZE-D, TZE-E and TZE-F) were investigated. Gamma radiation studies were achieved for photons up to 1.275 MeV, while the beta radiation studies were achieved for electrons up to 0.723 MeV. The gamma shielding investigation was performed using FLUKA and XCOM platforms. The beta shielding study was carried out via ESTAR program by estimating TSP for all the chosen glasses. From the view of practical application, it is found that the half value layer (HVL) and mean free path (MFP) values of the chosen glasses are evidently lower than those of ordinary concrete and Schott RS-253-G18 commercial radiation shielding glass, while they are higher than those of Schott RS-360 commercial radiation shielding glass at low energies.