Micro-Brillouin spectroscopy mapping of the residual density field induced by Vickers indentation in a soda-lime silicate glass

High-resolution Brillouin scattering is used to achieve 3-dimensional maps of the longitudinal acoustic mode frequency shift in soda-lime silicate glasses subject to Vickers indentations. Assuming that residual stress-induced effects are simply proportional to density changes, residual densification fields are obtained. The density gradient is nearly isotropic, confirming earlier optical observations made on a similar glass. The results show that Brillouin micro-spectroscopy opens the way to a fully quantitative comparison of experimental data with predictions of mechanical models for the identification of a constitutive law.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, revised version, to appear in Appl. Phys. Let

Acoustic damping in Li2_2O-2B2_2O3_3 glass observed by inelastic x-ray and optical Brillouin scattering

The dynamic structure factor of lithium-diborate glass has been measured at several values of the momentum transfer $Q$ using high resolution inelastic x-ray scattering. Much attention has been devoted to the low $Q$-range, below the observed Ioffe-Regel crossover \qco{}$\simeq$ 2.1 nm$^{-1}$. We find that below \qco{}, the linewidth of longitudinal acoustic waves increases with a high power of either $Q$, or of the frequency $\Omega$, up to the crossover frequency \OMco{} $\simeq$ 9 meV that nearly coincides with the center of the boson peak. This new finding strongly supports the view that resonance and hybridization of acoustic waves with a distribution of rather local low frequency modes forming the boson peak is responsible for the end of acoustic branches in strong glasses. Further, we present high resolution Brillouin light-scattering data obtained at much lower frequencies on the same sample. These clearly rule out a simple $\Omega^2$-dependence of the acoustic damping over the entire frequency range.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, submitted to the proceedings of IDMRCS 2005, Lille, Franc

Glass-specific behavior in the damping of acoustic-like vibrations

High frequency sound is observed in lithium diborate glass, Li$_2$O--2B$_2$O$_3$, using Brillouin scattering of light and x-rays. The sound attenuation exhibits a non-trivial dependence on the wavevector, with a remarkably rapid increase towards a Ioffe-Regel crossover as the frequency approaches the boson peak from below. An analysis of literature results reveals the near coincidence of the boson-peak frequency with a Ioffe-Regel limit for sound in {\em all} sufficiently strong glasses. We conjecture that this behavior, specific to glassy materials, must be quite universal among them.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, revised versio

High Frequency dynamics in metallic glasses

Using Inelastic X-ray Scattering we studied the collective dynamics of the glassy alloy Ni$_{33}$Zr$_{67}$ in the first pseudo Brillouin zone, an energy-momentum region still unexplored in metallic glasses. We determine key properties such as the momentum transfer dependence of the sound velocity and of the acoustic damping, discussing the results in the general context of recently proposed pictures for acoustic dynamics in glasses. Specifically, we demonstrate the existence in this strong glass of well defined (in the Ioffe Regel sense) acoustic-like excitations well above the Boson Peak energy.Comment: 4 pages, 4 .eps figures, accepted in Phys. Rev. Let

Eliminating the broadening by finite aperture in Brillouin spectroscopy

We present a new optical arrangement which allows to avoid the broadening by finite aperture in Brillouin spectroscopy. In this system, all the rays scattered at the same angle by the whole scattering volume are collected on a single pixel of the area detector. This allows to use large collection angles, increasing the luminosity without lowering the accuracy of the frequency-shift and linewidth measurements. Several results of experimental checks are provided, showing the efficiency of the device.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Scaling the Temperature-dependent Boson Peak of Vitreous Silica with the high-frequency Bulk Modulus derived from Brillouin Scattering Data

The position and strength of the boson peak in silica glass vary considerably with temperature $T$. Such variations cannot be explained solely with changes in the Debye energy. New Brillouin scattering measurements are presented which allow determining the $T$-dependence of unrelaxed acoustic velocities. Using a velocity based on the bulk modulus, scaling exponents are found which agree with the soft-potential model. The unrelaxed bulk modulus thus appears to be a good measure for the structural evolution of silica with $T$ and to set the energy scale for the soft potentials.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Plastic flow and structural heterogeneities in silicate glasses - A high throughput investigation

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Revealing the fast atomic motion of network glasses

Still very little is known on the relaxation dynamics of glasses at the microscopic level due to the lack of experiments and theories. It is commonly believed that glasses are in a dynamical arrested state, with relaxation times too large to be observed on human time scales. Here we provide the experimental evidence that glasses display fast atomic rearrangements within a few minutes, even in the deep glassy state. Following the evolution of the structural relaxation in a sodium silicate glass, we find that this fast dynamics is accompanied by the absence of any detectable aging, suggesting a decoupling of the relaxation time and the viscosity in the glass. The relaxation time is strongly affected by the network structure with a marked increase at the mesoscopic scale associated with the ion-conducting pathways. Our results modify the conception of the glassy state and asks for a new microscopic theory

Observation of the onset of strong scattering on high frequency acoustic phonons in densified silica glass

The linewidth of longitudinal acoustic waves in densified silica glass is obtained by inelastic x-ray scattering. It increases with a high power alpha of the frequency up to a crossover where the waves experience strong scattering. We find that \alpha is at least 4, and probably larger. Resonance and hybridization of acoustic waves with the boson-peak modes seems to be a more likely explanation for these findings than Rayleigh scattering from disorder.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Letter