A MULTIPURPOSE MINIATURE PISTON-CYLINDER DIAMOND-ANVIL CELL FOR PRESSURES BEYOND 100 GPA

A miniature piston-cylinder diamond-anvil cell (DAC) was constructed a nd tested for pressure operation at and beyond 100 GPa. Its advantages compared to other piston-cylinder DACs are its compactness (22-mm dia m by 21-mm high), self-contained force generator, and simple way of op eration. Tungsten carbide backing plates are used for supporting the a nvils; one with a hemispherical shape allowing for parallelism alignme nt, and one with a flat circular shape allowing for lateral alignment of the anvils' culets. The force is generated by six M3 Alien screws a nd is conveyed to the piston via force rings. Pressures to 130 GPa wer e achieved with beveled culets having 300-mu m flats and Re gaskets. D esign features, mode of operation, and performance are described. The latter has been demonstrated for the particular case of Mossbauer spec troscopy in (LaFeO3)-Fe-57. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S 0034-6748(98)02403-4].