Spectroscopic Manifestations of Self‐Trapped Holes in Silica Theory and Experiment

A quantitative simulation in the cluster approximation is made of an autolocalized hole in the amorphous SiO2 network. A model is suggested in which the thermal excitation of holes from Anderson localized states of the top of the silica valence band above the mobility edge corresponds to the thermally stimulated luminescence peak at 125 K, and the analogous optical transition — the radiation‐induced low‐temperature IR‐absorption. The position and form both, of the peak and absorption band and their thermo‐ and photostability are explained.