Analysis of Radiation Shielding Properties of Dysprosium Doped Strontium Magnesium Borate Glasses

Abstract

Radiation exposure to patients has increased globally due to the growing use of medical imaging in diagnostic radiography. It has been demonstrated that ionizing radiation increases the long-term risk of cancer by causing tissue damage and changing the DNA structure. The radiation shielding properties of dysprosium doped strontium magnesium borate glasses were analyzed using Phy-X/PSD. The chemical composition of glass 20MgO+10SrO+(70‒x)B₂O₃+yDy₂O₃ with 0.5 ≤ x ≤ 1.0 mol % glass, and are coded as S1, S2, and S3, in decreasing Dy2O3 content. Phy-X/PSD was used to determine the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), half value layer (HVL), effective atomic number (Zeff) of the investigated glasses. The maximum values for all the glasses can be observed at the lowest tested energy, 0.015MeV and are equal to 76.034 cm²/g, 7.535 cm²/g, and 6.640 cm²/g for the S1, S2, and S3 glasses, respectively. At this energy, the MAC of the glasses can be observed to decrease as the Dy₂O₃ concentration of the sample decreases as well, which could be due to the decrease in density that correlates with B₂O₃ content. The minimum HVL values occurred at the lowest tested energy, 0.2447 MeV, and increased with increasing energy, meaning that the glasses are more effective at lower energies. The results proved that the S1 glass, the glass with the greatest Dy₂O₃ content and density, has the greatest potential for radiation shielding application.