Formation of Intrinsic Point Defects in Fluorine-doped Synthetic SiO2Glass by60Co γ-ray Irradiation

Abstract

Intrinsic point defect formation in a fluorine-doped synthetic silica (SiO2) glass by 60Co γ-ray irradiation was examined. The most abundantly formed defects are oxygen vacancies (Si–Si bonds). The concentrations of Si–Si bonds and interstitial oxygen molecules increase almost linearly with the γ-ray dose. These observations indicate that the primarily intrinsic defect process in SiO2 glass irradiated with 60Co γ-rays is the Frenkel pair formation, rather than a simple cleavage of an Si–O bond into a pair of silicon and oxygen dangling bonds.