Amorphous silicon exhibits a glass transition

Amorphous silicon is a semiconductor with a lower density than the metallic silicon liquid. It is widely believed that the amorphous-liquid transition is a first-order melting transition. In contrast to this, recent computer simulations and the experimental observation of pressure-induced amorphization of nanoporous silicon have revived the idea of an underlying liquid-liquid phase transition implying the existence of a low-density liquid and its glass transition to the amorphous solid. Here we demonstrate that during irradiation with high-energy heavy ions amorphous silicon deforms plastically in the same way as conventional glasses. This behaviour provides experimental evidence for the existence of the low-density liquid. The glass transition temperature for a timescale of 10 picoseconds is estimated to be about 1,000 K. Our results support the idea of liquid polymorphism as a general phenomenon in tetrahedral networks.