The exposure of these interfaces to H, at temperatures ranging from 450 to 800C, was found to produce a considerable density (up to 1013/cm2) of positively charged centers. The absence of any correlation between the charging process, and the presence of Si dangling-bond centers in SiO2 (or at the Si/SiO2 interface), was assumed to indicate H bonding in a valence alternation state which was suggested to be an over-coordinated O center, [Si2=OH]+, that was stabilized by SiO2 network rearrangement at the interface.

V.V.Afanasev, A.Stesmans: Physical Review Letters, 1998, 80[23], 5176-9