6533b855fe1ef96bd12b069a

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Intrinsic defect formation in amorphousSiO2by electronic excitation: Bond dissociation versus Frenkel mechanisms

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Two competing mechanisms of intrinsic defect formation in amorphous ${\text{SiO}}_{2}$ $(a{\text{-SiO}}_{2})$, i.e., the vacancy-interstitial (Frenkel) mechanism and Si-O bond dissociation to form silicon and oxygen dangling bonds, were compared under $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray electronic excitation. The Frenkel mechanism was found to be dominant. The concentrations of both kinds of defects strongly correlate with the degree of the structural disorder of $a{\text{-SiO}}_{2}$, providing experimental evidence that both types of intrinsic defect pairs are formed mainly from the strained Si-O-Si bonds. The bond dissociation mechanism is more susceptible to the structural disorder than the vacancy-interstitial mechanism.