Electron emission from excited states of E′ centers in SiO2

The applicability of the non-stationary optically stimulated electron emission (OSEE) to the spectroscopy of E′ centers in different SiO2 modifications was demonstrated. Spectral dependences of the OSEE from E′ centers in samples of silica glass, crystalline α-quartz, SiO2 films and nanoceramics exposed to fast electrons and ions were obtained. A model of the energy structure of E′ centers accounting for the absence of luminescence and taking into account the presence of two non-radiative relaxation channels (intracenter and ionization) is discussed. This model was used to substantiate the mechanism of the photothermal decay of E′ centers and to determine the quantum yields of OSEE for different types of E′ centers.