Raman measurement of irreversible shear in SiO$_2$ glass

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how Raman spectroscopy can detect irreversible shear-induced structural changes in silica glasses, enabling in situ monitoring of plastic damage through spectral analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a semi-classical modeling approach linking Raman spectral changes to shear-induced structural modifications in silica glasses.

Findings

Shear plastic flow affects the Raman spectrum's upper part.

Structural modifications correlate with spectral changes.

Potential for in situ damage monitoring in silica structures.

Abstract

Raman spectroscopy is a useful experimental tool to investigate local deformation and structural changes in SiO$_2$-based glasses. Using a semi-classical modelling of Raman spectra in large samples of silica glasses, we show in this paper that shear plastic flow affects the Raman measurement in the upper part of the spectrum. We relate these changes to structural modifications, as well as a detailed analysis of the vibration modes computed in the same frequency range. These results opens the door to in situ monitoring of plastic damage in silica-based structures.