Polyamorphic transition of germanium under pressure

Pressure-induced transformations in the atomic and electronic structure of amorphous germanium (a-Ge) have been investigated by using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) combined with energy-scanning x-ray diffraction. Our data show that an abrupt change in the local structure and in the electron states near the Fermi level occurs in evaporated a-Ge at a pressure of about 8 GPa. The transformation is clearly detectable by a change in the shape and energy shift in the near-edge structures and by an increase of the average first-neighbor distance measured by XAS. The occurrence of this polyamorphic transition is discussed in light of the recent advances in the study of multiple dense fluid phases.