Physical, optical and shielding features of Li2O-B2O3-MgO-Er2O3 glasses co-doped of Sm2O3

The glassy systems acquired much concern for using in diverse implementations. For this cause, different concentrations of samarium oxide co-doped lithium magnesium borate erbium oxide were prepared by the melt-quench technique. Several physical and optical properties of all prepared glass samples were computed. XRD patterns for all prepared samples show the presence of a broad peak and the lack of sharp peaks emphasize the amorphous nature of all prepared glass samples. FTIR confirms the presence of the functional group BO3 and BO4. Ten considerable absorption bands are evident in the UV-Vis-NIR spectra of the S0 glass sample which are attributed to the presence of Er3+ ions. S1-S4 samples revealed additional six peaks that are attributed to Sm3+ ions. In addition, photon and neutron shielding features were evaluated for all prepared samples which enhanced by the increment of Sm3+ contents. In conclusion, the studied glass composition can be useful in several applications such as solid-state laser, telecommunication, and radiation shielding.