Proof of the thermodynamical stability of the E' center in SiO2
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 VO+. 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 VO+ 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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