Raman spectroscopy at high pressure and high temperature. Phase transitions and thermodynamic properties of minerals

An outline of recent developments in Raman spectroscopy at high pressure, high temperature and combined high pressure and high temperature is presented. The instrumental and technical aspects of Raman spectroscopy, and coupling of diamond anvil cells and miniature furnaces to Raman microspectrometers are discussed. Some potential pitfalls, such as the thermal pressure in laser heated diamond anvil cells or the thermal radiation during high-temperature measurements, are presented. Special emphasis is given on processing of high-temperature Raman data. New recently discovered phase transformations in the SiO₂ system (quartz→ quartz II, pressure-induced amorphization of quartz) and structural changes in SiO₂ glass and melt are used to infer the capability of in-situ Raman spectroscopy for determining the microscopic behaviour of minerals, melts and glasses under extreme pressure and temperature conditions. Finally, it is shown how vibrational mode anharmonicity can be obtained from the pressure- and temperature-induced shifts of Raman modes. This anharmonicity can be introduced into the vibrational modeling of the thermodynamic properties (entropy and equation of state) of minerals. The example of calcite is briefly discussed.