In situ high-pressure pair distribution function measurement of liquid and glass by using 100 keV pink beam

Understanding the pressure-induced structural changes in liquids and amorphous materials is fundamental in a wide range of scientific fields. However, experimental investigation of the structure of liquid and amorphous material under in situ high-pressure conditions is still limited due to the experimental difficulties. In particular, the range of the momentum transfer (Q) in the structure factor [S(Q)] measurement under high-pressure conditions has been limited at relatively low Q, which makes it difficult to conduct detailed structural analysis of liquid and amorphous material. Here, we show the in situ high-pressure pair distribution function measurement of liquid and glass by using the 100 keV pink beam. Structures of liquids and glasses are measured under in situ high-pressure conditions in the Paris–Edinburgh press by high-energy x-ray diffraction measurement using a double-slit collimation setup with a point detector. The experiment enables us to measure S(Q) of GeO₂ and SiO₂ glasses and liquid Ge at a wide range of Q up to 20–29 Å⁻¹ under in situ high-pressure and high-temperature conditions, which is almost two times larger than that of the conventional high-pressure angle-dispersive x-ray diffraction measurement. The high-pressure experimental S(Q) precisely determined at a wide range of Q opens the way to investigate detailed structural features of liquids and amorphous materials under in situ high-pressure and high-temperature conditions, as well as ambient pressure study.