While
silicon carbide (SiC) has been predicted to undergo pressure-induced
amorphization, the microstructural evidence of such a drastic phase change is absent as its brittleness usually prevents its successful recovery from high-pressure experiments. Here we report on the observation of amorphous SiC recovered from laser-ablation-driven shock compression with a peak stress of approximately 50 GPa.
Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the amorphous regions are extremely localized, forming bands as narrow as a few nanometers. In addition to these amorphous bands, planar
stacking faults are observed. Large-scale non-equilibrium
molecular dynamic simulations elucidate the process and suggest that the planar stacking faults serve as the precursors to amorphization. Our results suggest that the amorphous phase produced is a high-density form, which enhances its thermodynamical stability under the high pressures combined with the
shear stresses generated by the
uniaxial strain state in shock compression.