Radiation attenuation properties of the quaternary semiconducting compounds Cu2CoGe[S, Se, Te]4

The radiation-protection properties of the magnetic semiconducting quaternary compounds Cu2CoGeS4, Cu2CoGeSe4, and Cu2CoGeTe4 were examined in this study by using Phy-X/PSD software with the selected gamma energy (0.015–15 MeV). The radiation shielding coefficients such as mass and linear attenuation coefficients (MAC) and (LAC), half-value layer (HVL), and mean free path (MFP) of the present semiconductors were calculated. Also, the total electronic and atomic cross-sections (ECS and ACS), the effective atomic number (Zeff), the effective electron density (Neff), and the effective conductivity (Ceff) of these semiconductors were estimated to see how well they could protect against radiation. A comparative study occurred between the obtained results and the corresponding values of RS-253-G18, RS-360, RS-520 glasses, barite, chromite, and ferrite concrete. The results show that semiconducting samples with the best shielding performance outperform RS-253-G18, RS-360 glass, and RS-520 glass materials commonly used in nuclear applications. The Cu2CoGeTe4 sample had the highest MAC, LAC, and ACS, as well as the highest ECS and Zeff values. The other two semiconductor samples had the lowest MAC, ECS, and Zeff values. For photons, charged particles (electrons, protons, alpha particles), and C-ion, Phy-X/PSD allows the calculation of the Zeff quickly and precisely across the entire energy range. This study indicates that the semiconductor samples can be utilized as radiation attenuators for various nuclear fields.