High-pressure Raman spectroscopy of perovskite oxynitride SrTaO2N

Perovskite oxynitrides exhibit emergent physical properties driven by a substitution of nitrogen for oxygen. The nitrogen substitution distorts the octahedra and induces octahedral tilting which are responsible for a relaxor-like temperature-insensitive dielectric response. To study the local structural evolution of oxynitride SrTaO2N under pressure, we performed in-situ high-pressure Raman spectroscopy measurements with a diamond anvil cell up to a pressure of P = 19 GPa. We find that forbidden modes were active, indicating a lowering of local symmetry from non-polar I4/mcm due to the octahedral distortion. Under pressure, a mode associated with TaO4N2 exhibits a negative wavenumber shift and merges with a nearby mode at a pressure of P ae integral 4.2 GPa. This result indicates a suppression of octahedral tilting under pressure.