Mechanism of interconversion among radiation-induced defects in amorphous silicon dioxide

We here present a series of ab initio quantum-chemical calculations on clusters of atoms modeling several oxygen-deficiency-related defects in amorphous silica and illustrate how these defect centers will change their atomic configurations upon photoionization. We first give theoretical evidence that structural conversion from a neutral oxygen monovacancy to a divalent Si defect is possible, explaining the observed photoluminescence properties associated with these defects.