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Proof of the thermodynamical stability of the E' center in SiO2

Carlo M. Carbonaro·Vincenzo Fiorentini·Fabio Bernardini
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Abstract

The E' center is a paradigmatic radiation-induced defect in SiO2 whose peculiar EPR and hyperfine activity has been known since over 40 years. This center has been traditionally identified with a distorted, positively-charged oxygen vacancy V_O+. However, no direct proof of the stability of this defect has ever been provided, so that its identification is still strongly incomplete. Here we prove directly that distorted V_O+ is metastable and that it satisfies the key requirements for its identification as E', such as thermal and optical response, and activation-deactivation mechanisms.

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Carlo M. Carbonaro, Vincenzo Fiorentini, Fabio Bernardini. 2000-09-29. Proof of the thermodynamical stability of the E' center in SiO2. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.86.3064

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