Pressure-induced phase transition of SiC

The pressure-induced phase transition in silicon carbide is studied using a constant-pressure ab initio technique. The reversible transition between the zinc-blende structure and the rock-salt structure is successfully reproduced through the simulation. The transformation mechanism at the atomistic level is characterized, and it is found that the transition is based on a tetragonal and an orthorhombic intermediate state. The space groups of the intermediate states are determined as I (4) over bar m2 and Imm2.