Ab initio simulations of photoinduced interconversions of oxygen deficient centers in amorphous silica.
We have studied by ab initio molecular dynamics the interconversion between oxygen deficient centers (Si-Si bond, dicoordinated silicon =Si:, and E' centers) induced by UV irradiation in a-SiO2. By dynamical simulations in the excited state of a periodic model of a-SiO2 we have identified the reaction path and activation barrier for the Si-Si-->=Si: interconversion. A new competitive transformation of the excited, neutral Si-Si bond into two E' centers has been identified. Our results provide strong theoretical support to the viability of these processes, proposed experimentally on the basis of optical data only.
Donadio
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Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia and Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Università di Milano Bicocca, via Cozzi 53, I-20126 Milano, Italy. davide.donadio@unimib.it
Bernasconi
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Boero
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