Synthesis, photoluminescence, judd-ofelt parameters, and high energy neutron/charged particle transmission efficiencies of Nd3+ ion-activated sodium-borate glasses

Sodium borate glasses doped with Nd³⁺ ions and having the molar formulations 75B₂O₃ – 15Na₂O – 9.5x – 0.5Nd₂O₃, where x = Bi₂O₃; SrO and Li₂O were prepared by employing the melt quenching technique. The glasses were coded as BiNd, SrNd, and LiNd for x = Bi₂O₃; SrO and Li₂O, respectively. The prepared glasses were characterized for their physical and optical attributes. The influence of the glass composition on the photoluminescence and fast neutron (FN) and charged radiation (CR) transmission efficiencies were also investigated. The density of BiNd, SrNd, and LiNd is 3.32, 2.43, and 3.32 g/cm³, respectively. Optical constants of the glasses showed variations with glass composition. The FTIR study of the glass also revealed the structure of the glasses. The BiNd glass has the most intense PL of all the samples, followed by SrNd glass, while LiNd had the weakest PL emission. The value of ${\Sigma }_R$ for BiNd, SiNd, and LiNd is 0.1029 cm⁻¹, 0.1009 cm⁻¹, and 0.0987 cm⁻¹, respectively. The projected ranges of electrons, protons, helium ions, and carbon ions were generally lower for denser XNd glass. The XNd glasses are potentially useful of optical, shielding and dosimetry applications.