Structure of supercooled liquid silicon

We report x-ray diffraction measurements of the structure factor S(Q) and the radial distribution function g(r) of levitated liquid silicon in the stable and supercooled states. Supercooling results in a sharpening of the first peak in S(Q) and shift to an 8% higher Q value, the appearance of a double shoulder on the high-r side of the first peak in g(r), a sharpening of the first peak in g(r) and a decrease in coordination number. These changes are consistent with a significantly enhanced degree of covalent bonding.