H-complexed oxygen vacancy in SiO2:: Energy level of a negatively charged state

The defects generated in SiO2 during irradiation with energetic (10 eV) photons were found to trap electrons at a level 3.1 eV below the oxide conduction bond, The electron spin resonance data and the behavior upon hydrogen passivation indicate that the optically active state may be ascribed to a H-complexed oxygen vacancy in SiO2. The observed injection of electrons to these traps from Si advances the revealed defects as the possible origin of the degradation-induced electrical conduction of thin SiO2 layers. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(97)03752-2].