A Raman study of B₂0₃ through the liquid-glass transition range

Abstract
The low frequency Raman spectrum of B₂0₃ and the boroxol ring vibrational mode at 808 cm_-1 have been studied from room temperature to 1273 K as the glass transforms to a melt. Both the low frequeney "boson" peak and the boroxol mode are markedly influenced by the glass transition. Raising the temperature above T_g the strength of the 808 cm^-1 mode decreases linearly indicating the Similar behavior of the boroxol ring concentration. The boson peak shows a different temperature behavior, which mirrors that of the sound velo city. The structural correlation length demostrates the same correlation range in the liquid and the glass. The results, when compared with neutron diffraction measurements contradict a recently proposed relation between the "boson correlation length" and the position of the first sharp diffraction peak of the structure factor.