Structure, properties, and dynamics of oxygen vacancies in amorphous SiO2

Phys Rev Lett. 2002 Dec 31;89(28 Pt 1):285505. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.285505. Epub 2002 Dec 30.

Abstract

Oxygen vacancies in SiO2 have long been regarded as bistable, forming a Si-Si dimer when neutral and a puckered configuration when positively charged. We report first-principles calculations of O vacancies in amorphous SiO2 supercells that unveil significantly more complex behavior. We find that the vast majority of O vacancies do not pucker after capture of a hole, but are shallow traps. The remaining vacancies exhibit two distinct types of puckering. Upon capturing an electron, one type forms a metastable dipole, while the other collapses to a dimer. A statistical distribution of O vacancies is obtained, and the implications for charge transport and trapping in SiO2 are discussed.