Self-trapped holes in amorphous silicon dioxide

Electron-spin-resonance spectra tentatively attributed to self-trapped holes (STH's) in amorphous silicon dioxide are reported and analyzed. Two types of STH's were found in a numerical ratio {~}1:1 in all silica samples investigated (including high-OH flame hydrolytic, low-OH O₂-plasma fused, sol-gel, and less pure isotopically enriched materials) following either 100-keV x-ray irradiation or 6.4-eV excimer-laser illumination at 77 K: STH₁, stable below {~}180 K, is suggested to comprise a hole trapped on a ``normal'' bridging oxygen in the glass network. STH₂, stable below {~}140 K, is provisionally ascribed to a hole trapped on two normal oxygens, in analogy with the VK center in alkali halides.