Ultraviolet optical properties of silica controlled by hydrogen trapping at Ge-related defects

Abstract

We studied the effects induced by the ultraviolet-laser and -lamp exposure sequences on the twofold coordinated germanium (=Ge{sup {center_dot}}{sup {center_dot}}) and the H(II) center (=Ge{sup {center_dot}}-H) in silica. The H(II) centers, generated after the first laser irradiation stage by the trapping of atomic hydrogen H{sup 0} at the (=Ge{sup {center_dot}}{sup {center_dot}}), are destroyed by the subsequent lamp exposure with efficiency depending on photon energy. The H(II) photodestruction is activated from {approx}4 eV, and its cross section is here quantitatively measured, so giving the absorption profile of this center. Consistent with the observed correlated recovering of (=Ge{sup {center_dot}}{sup {center_dot}}), the photodestruction is mainly due to the photolysis of the Ge-H bond leading to hydrogen detrapping.