Pressure generation to 25 GPa using a cubic anvil apparatus with a multi-anvil 6-6 assembly

Abstract

The maximum pressure generated in a cubic anvil apparatus has been extended to approximately 25 GPa with the sample volume approximately one order of magnitude larger than that available in the earlier study reporting the highest pressure of ∼23 GPa. The pressure generation experiment was performed using a newly designed multi-anvil 6-6 (MA 6-6) assembly with tungsten carbide anvils possessing truncated edge lengths of 2.5 and 3.0 mm, operated in a deformation-DIA-type apparatus. The semiconductor-to-metal transitions in GaP, GaAs, ZnS, and ZnTe at room temperature were used as the pressure references. A cubic anvil apparatus has many advantages in high-pressure experiments over the Kawai (or 6-8)-type apparatus, and the extension of both pressure range and sample volume in the former apparatus should greatly contribute to the advancement of the studies relevant to deformation, measurement of physical properties, synthesis, and crystal structure analysis of materials under high pressures and temperatures.

Keywords:

• cubic anvil apparatus
• DIA apparatus
• multi-anvil 6-6 assembly
• high pressure

Acknowledgements

This study has been supported by the global COE program “Deep Earth Mineralogy” and grants from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of the Japanese Government.