Determination of effective atomic number and electron density of heavy metal oxide glasses

Abstract

The effective atomic number (Zeff) and effective electron density (Neff) of eight heavy metal oxide (HMO) glasses have been determined using the Monte Carlo simulation code MCNP for the energy range of 10 keV–10 MeV. The interpolation method was employed to extract Zeff and Neff values from the simulation and that calculated with the help of XCOM program. Comparisons are also made with predictions from the Auto-Zeff software in the same energy region. Wherever possible, the simulated values of Zeff and Neff are compared with experimental data. In general, a very good agreement was noticed. It was found that the Zeff and Neff vary with photon energy and do not have extended intermediate regions where Compton scattering is truly dominating; only dips slightly above ∼1.5 MeV were recorded. Zeff and Neff are found to increase with PbO and Bi2O3 contents. It was found that the Zeff value rather than the Neff value is a better indicator for PbO and/or Bi2O3 contents.