DEFECT-CONTROLLED CARRIER TRANSPORT IN AMORPHOUS SIO2

The defect-controlled transport properties of the photogenerated electrons in amorphous SiO2, the low-temperature mobility of approximately 40 cm2 V–1 s–1 and the lifetime of approximately 1·4 ×10–8s, are shown to be determined by interaction with neutral intimate-valence-alternation pairs, defects consisting of charged, and over- and under-coordinated oxygen atoms, C3+ and C1- respectively. The holes move by small-polaron hopping, and a dispersive character in their transport may be associated with trapping at the same defects. © 1979 Taylor & Francis Ltd.