High density amorphous form and polyamorphic transformations of silicon

Polyamorphic transformations of silicon have been investigated by constant-pressure first-principles molecular-dynamics simulations. By pressurizing a normal amorphous Si with tetrahedral coordination, a new high density amorphous (HDA) form that has a strong resemblance to HDA water is obtained. We find that the HDA form can be also obtained through vitrification of liquid Si under pressure. Both HDA and liquid Si contain deformed tetrahedral configurations with interstitial atoms. These findings indicate that HDA Si is directly connected with liquid Si, which is of particular importance in understanding phase relations of polyamorphs of Si.