We have investigated the thermal stability of paramagnetic silicon dangling bond centers, which are called K0 centers, generated by ultraviolet exposure of low-pressure chemical-vapor-deposited silicon nitride films. The K0 center density, which was measured by electron spin resonance spectroscopy, decayed upon isothermal annealing at 150, 240, 400, and 750 °C. Some K0 centers were not easily relaxed even after long-time annealing at 150, 240, and 400 °C. An analytical model was proposed to explain the isothermal decay of the K0 center density and the presence of long-lifetime K0 centers.
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