Raman spectroscopic study of high-pressure phase transitions in cristobalite

The pressure dependence of the cristobalite Raman spectrum has been investigated to 22 GPa at room temperature, using single-crystal Raman spectroscopy with a diamond-anvil cell. We observe a rapid, first-order phase transition on increasing pressure, consistent with the cristobalite I?II transition revealed in previous x-ray diffraction experiments. The phase transition has been bracketed at 1.2±0.1 GPa on increasing pressure and 0.2±0.1 GPa on decreasing pressure. The pressure shifts II) of 11 Raman bands in the high-pressure phase (cristobalite have been measured. Evidence for an unusual hybridization of modes at 490–500 cm^?1 is found. Changes in the Raman spectra also reveal an additional phase transition to a new phase at P ≈ 11 GPa, which remains to be fully characterized.