Abstract
Due to its unique properties, amorphous silicon dioxide (a-SiO2) or silica is a key material in many technological fields, such as high-power laser systems, telecommunications, and fiber optics. In recent years, major efforts have been made in the development of highly transparent glasses, able to resist ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. However the widespread application of many silica-based technologies, particularly silica optical fibers, is still limited by the radiation-induced formation of point defects, which decrease their durability and transmission efficiency. Although this aspect has been widely investigated, the optical properties of certain defects and the correlation between their formation dynamics and the structure of the pristine glass remains an open issue. For this reason, it is of paramount importance to gain a deeper understanding of the structure–reactivity relationship in a-SiO2 for the prediction of the optical properties of a glass based on its manufacturing parameters, and the realization of more efficient devices. To this end, we here report on the state of the most important intrinsic point defects in pure silica, with a particular emphasis on their main spectroscopic features, their atomic structure, and the effects of their presence on the transmission properties of optical fibers.
Highlights
The integration of silica glasses in optical and electronic devices are, at present, limited by the effects of high-energy radiation on the transmission and reflection properties of the material
When silica optical fibers are exposed to ionizing radiation, some of the strained chemical bonds present in the core are broken by the incoming light to give rise to point defects
We investigated the structural and optical properties of the most common UV–Vis absorbing point defects found in pure silica
Summary
The integration of silica glasses in optical and electronic devices are, at present, limited by the effects of high-energy radiation on the transmission and reflection properties of the material. As reported in a large number of studies [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11], the irradiation of silica with either photons or energetic particles (neutrons, electrons, protons, heavy ions) activates a wide range of damage processes that result in the formation of point defects These localized irregularities of the network are characterized by one or more energy levels lying in the band gap of the dielectric and are responsible for the shift in the optical absorption edge of the glass to lower energies. This aspect is important for the development of applications such as fiber laser systems, daylighting systems, and new-generation photovoltaic devices, in which a high transparency in the UV–Vis range is required to guarantee an optimal performance
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