Temperature dependence of the generation and decay of E′ centers induced in silica by 4.7 eV laser radiation

Abstract We report a study of the generation of silicon dangling bonds (E′ centers) induced in fused silica by 4.7 eV laser irradiation in the 10 200 K the induced defects undergo a post-irradiation decay due to their reaction with mobile H2. The interplay between generation and annealing gives rise to a bell-shaped temperature dependence of the concentration of induced E′ centers, peaking at 250 K.