Defects in SiO2 and Related Dielectrics: Science and Technology

Silicon dioxide plays a central role in most contemporary electronic and photonic technologies, from fiber optics for communications and medical applications to metal-oxide-semiconductor devices. Many of these applications directly involve point defects, which can either be introduced during the manufacturing process or by exposure to ionizing radiation. They can also be deliberately created to exploit new technologies. This book provides a general description of the influence that point defects have on the global properties of the bulk material and their spectroscopic characterization through ESR and optical spectroscopy.

Table of Contents:
0.- Structure and topology.- Defect-free vitreous networks: The idealised structure of SiO2 and related glasses.- Topology and topological disorder in silica.- Bulk defects.- Optical properties of defects in silica.- The natures of point defects in amorphous silicon dioxide.- Ab initio theory of point defects in SiO2.- A demi-century of magnetic defects in ?-quartz.- Interaction of SiC2 glasses with high energy ion beams and vacuum UV excimer laser pulses.- Excitons, localized states in silicon dioxide and related crystals and glasses.- Gamma rays induced conversion of native defects in natural silica.- Ge and Sn doping in silica: structural changes, optically active defects, paramagnetic sites.- Computational studies of self-trapped excitons in silica.- Surface defects.- Defects on activated silica surface.- Ab-initio molecular dynamics simulation of amorphous silica surface.- Bragg grating.- Periodic UV-induced index modulations in doped-silica optical fibers: formation and properties of the fiber Bragg grating.- Bulk silicas prepared by low pressure plasma CVD: formation of structure and point defects.- Change of spectroscopic and structural properties of germanosilicate glass under mechanical compression and UV irradiation.- UV photoinduced phenomena in oxygen-deficient silica glasses.- One- and two-quantum UV photo-reactions in pure and doped silica glasses. 2. Germanium oxygen deficient centers (GODC).- Photoinduced refractive index change and second harmonic generation in MCVD germanosilicate core fibres fabricated in reduced (nitrogen and helium) atmospheres.- Si/SiC2 interface and gate dielectrics.- Molecular hydrogen interaction kinetics of interfacial Si dangling bonds in thermal (111)Si/SiO2. An electron spin resonance saga.- Ultrathin oxide films foradvanced gate dielectrics applications Current progress and future challenges.- SiC/SiO2 interface defects.- Point defects in Si-SiO2 systems: current understanding.