Linear, nonlinear optical and photon attenuation properties of La3+ doped tellurite glasses

Linear and nonlinear optical features of La3+ doped tellurite glasses in the form 75TeO2–10ZnO –5Li2O –(10-x)Nb2O5 –xLa2O3: x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 in mol% (abbreviated as La0.0. La0.5, La1.0, La1.5, La2.0, and La2.5) were investigated. Also, the γ-photons attenuation parameters were tested utilizing Geant4 simulation code. Results revealed that the molar polarizability (αmolar) takes values from 8.685 × 10−24 to 7.933 × 10−24 cm3, while the molar refraction (Rmolar) changes from 21.886 to 20.219 (cm3/mol) for La0.0 to La2.5 glasses. The static dielectric constant (εstatic) varies from 6.368 to 5.191, whereas optical electronegativity (χ*) varies from 0.690 to 0.852 for La0.0-La2.5 glasses. Non-linear optical susceptibility (χ3) decreases from 5.675 × 10−12 to 2.109 × 10−12 (esu) with increment La2O3 content in the glasses, while non-linear refractive index (n2optical) decreases from 8.472 × 10−11 to 3.488 × 10−11 (esu). The radiation attenuation characteristics for the tested glasses were investigated with the help of Geant4 code. The mass attenuation coefficient (μm) was simulated between 0.284 and 2.506 MeV. The influnce of La2O3 on the shielding parameters was examined. Among the studied glasses, La2.5 posseses the highest μm values. Also, La2.5 sample has the lowest transmission fraction, which implies that more photons can be attenuated with La2.5 glass using a thin glass layer. From the transmission fraction results, we found that thick glasses are needed to attenuate gamma rays coming at high energies. At 0.511 MeV, the half value layer (HVL) value of the La0.0 glass is 1.49 cm while, at the same energy, the HVL value of the La2.5 glass is 1.44 cm.