Thermostimulated luminescence and electron spin resonance in X-ray- and photon-irradiated oxygen-deficient silica

Abstract Influences of oxygen-deficiency on radiation properties of high-purity, low-OH fused silica were studied. It is found that thermostimulated luminescence (TSL) peaks are different for photo (7.7 eV) and X-ray excitation at 77 K. X-ray excitation produces TSL peaks at 125 and 170 K corresponding to the anneal temperatures of two types of self-trapped holes centers STH2 and STH1, respectively, detected by electron spin resonance (ESR). Oxygen-deficiency apparently increases the number of electron traps, stabilizing a larger number of STHs in the continuous defect-free silica network than is observed in similarly X-irradiated stoichiometric silica glasses. Photoexcitation of oxygen-deficient glass at 7.7 eV produces TSL peaks at 105 and 200 K, presently attributed to STHs at perturbed sites in the immediate vicinity of oxygen-deficiency centers (ODCs). High temperature TSL peaks at 240 and 400 K are produced by both types of irradiations and are followed by ESR detection of E′ centers only. All observed TSL and ESR signals were proportional to the level of oxygen-deficiency. The main spectral band in TSL near 2.7 eV is a triplet–singlet transition, ascribable to the twofold-coordinated silicon center (ODC(II)) modified by its nearest structure. It is proposed that this recombination process results when a thermally detrapped STH encounters an electron trapped at the site of ODC(I), and is transmuted into a modified ODC(II):e−. In principle, any such ODC:e− defect should be paramagnetic. However, no trapped-electron centers were detected by ESR in the present experiments. Based on the recent work of others, the E α ′ centers that were observed are believed to be trapped hole centers. Thus, for reasons unknown, the postulated ODC(II):e− centers, which may be the primary electron traps in oxygen-deficient silicas, appear to be ESR-silent.