title: Pressure-induced amorphization in silicon caused by the impact of electrosprayed nanodroplets.
abstract: This Letter describes the shock-induced amorphization of single-crystal Si bombarded by nanodroplets. At impact velocities of several kilometers per second, the projectiles trigger strong compression pulses lasting tens of picoseconds. The phase transition, confirmed via transmission electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction, takes place when the projectile's stagnation pressure is approximately 15 GPa. We speculate that the amorphization results either from the decompression of the β-Sn phase or during the compression of the diamond phase.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA. mgameroc@uci.edu
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gamero-Castaño
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torrents
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Valdevit
authors.forename: Jian-Guo
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Zheng