We clarify the local structure in a model silicon glass by use of Voronoi-polyhedron analysis. The glass is produced by molecular dynamics with a Stillinger-Weber potential. The atoms in the glass are nearly distinguishable: there are about 200 types in the system with 216 atoms. The analysis clarifies that the polyhedra are formed by a small number of large-area polygons or by a large number of small-area polygons. This feature is different from those in Lennard-Jones glasses or metallic glasses and is attributed to the loose-packed structure even in the glass state, in which the atoms still have directional bonding. The variety of Voronoi signatures that appear in the covalently bonded glass can be simplified mainly into two types of signatures by constructing the polyhedra by use of the bonding atoms.

• Received 17 September 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.47.8552