Cubic silicon nitride embedded in amorphous silicon dioxide

A cubic silicon nitride embedded in amorphous SiO2 compound has been characterized by means of high-resolution analytical electron microscopy. The specimen was prepared from β–Si3N4 powders at a high pressure and temperature by shock wave compression. The typical high-resolution electron microscopy image from one small crystallite together with its diffractodiagram pattern indicated that the Si3N4 crystallites had a cubic symmetry. The electron energy loss spectrum from the small crystallite is very different from those of outside amorphous SiO2 phase and raw β–Si3N4 particles, and there are more N elements that were detected in this small crystallite than those in standard Si3N4.