Abstract
Additive yttria in manufacturing glasses yieldsbetter shielding properties which can be used for solar cell covers. Selected ratios of yttria and other oxides have been added to borate-based glasses for the synthesizing via technique of melt quenching. The radiation shielding and structural properties were changed after the addition of yttria in the studied glasses. These glasses were studied using x-ray diffraction and scintillation gamma-ray spectrometer. The glasses have been exposed to photons with 0.662, 1.173 and 1.33 MeV energies that emitted from Cs-137 and Co-60 radioactive sources and the photon intensities were detected using a 3;;3 inch NaI(TI) detector. The mass attenuation coefficients (?(m)), half value layers (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), the mean free paths (MFP), effective atomic numbers (Z(eff)) and effective electron densities (ED) values have been measured experimentally. The results are also compared to theoretical values outcomes by using XCOM. The results indicate that the YABB10 glass containing 10 % yttria has the lowest HVL, TVL and MFP values than the other glasses. It indicates that the use of Y2O3 in glass increases the gamma shielding properties which means that these materials have a promising use as a cover layer protection.