One-quantum photoreactions of oxygen-deficient centers in germanium silicate glasses

The process of one-quantum photoexcitation and decomposition of germanium o xygen-deficient centers (GODCs), the main light-sensitive defects in german ium silicate glasses, is studied. A strong effect of germanium concentratio n on the yield for one-quantum reactions of GODCs is revealed. The saturati on of the glass with molecular hydrogen changes the mechanism of the photod ecomposition of GODCs. In this case, the one-quantum photochemistry of germ anium silicate glasses is dominated by reactions of triplet-state excited G ODCs with hydrogen irrespective of the content of germanium in the glass. T he existence of spectral and photochemical nonuniformities among GODCs is e xperimentally established. These nonuniformities may give rises to a substa ntially nonexponential dependence of the GODC photodecomposition yield on t he W-radiation fluence.