Raman investigation of structural changes induced by e-beam irradiation in Ge doped silica MCVD glasses

Microstructural changes of germanium (Ge)-doped silica glasses irradiated with electron beam (e-beam) have been investigated by Raman spectroscopy. Two mechanisms correlated to the specific volume changes induced by e-beam irradiation were observed by surface topography measurement. As we have previously demonstrated, they depend on the Ge content and the irradiation dose. The compaction of the structure (which decreases with the Ge concentration) is attributed to an increase of the three and four-membered ring species which is maximal at the surface and decreases with depth. By means of Monte-Carlo simulations, we have correlated the energy deposition with the compaction process. Some specific Raman components are attributed to the expansion of the structure observed for high Ge content and high irradiation dose. In this case, an increase of the anti-symmetric stretching modes of the bridging oxygen in the SiOGe and SiOSi groups are observed at the surface.