High pressure elastic and plastic deformations of silica: In situ diamond anvil cell Raman experiments

Normal silica glass is usually referred to as low density amorphous silica as it can be converted to high density amorphous silica by a hydrostatic pressure (polyamorphic transition). In this work in situ Raman experiments are performed in a diamond anvil cell up to 18 GPa. The pressure effects on the structure of silica after successive compression decompression experiments are analyzed. The mode Gruneisen parameters corresponding to the elastic compression of high density amorphous silica are obtained and compared with those of normal silica. A reorganization of the high density amorphous silica below 3 GPa is evidenced. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.