Stabilizing a high-pressure phase in InSb at ambient conditions with a laser-driven pressure pulse

Abstract

In this letter, we describe the stabilization of indium antimonide (InSb) in the high-pressure orthorhombic phase (InSb-III) at ambient conditions. Until now, InSb-III has only been observed above 9 GPa, or at around 3 GPa as a metastable structure during the phase transition from cubic zinc blende (InSb-I) to orthorhombic InSb-IV. The crystalline phase transition from InSb-I to InSb-III was driven by an ultrashort, laser-generated, non-hydrostatic pressure pulse. The transition occurred in preferred orientations locked to the initial orientation of the InSb-I crystal, breaking the symmetry of the InSb-I cubic cell to form the InSb-III orthorhombic cell.