LAUSR

ABSTRACT A new opposed type double-stage large volume cell has been developed to compress large volume samples to more than 100 GPa (Mbar) pressure. A pair of second-stage diamond anvils is introduced into the first-stage Paris–Edinburgh press. The double-stage large volume cell allows the generation of ultrahigh pressures using a large culet diameter of the second-stage diamond anvils (diameters of 0.5–1.2 mm). Pressure generation up to 131 GPa has been achieved by using the culet diameter of 0.5 mm. Sample volume of the double-stage large volume cell can be more than ∼100 times larger than that of conventional Mbar experiment using a diamond anvil cell. The double-stage large volume cell has a large opening in the horizontal plane for X-ray measurements, which is particularly suited for the multi-angle energy dispersive X-ray diffraction measurement, thus opening a new way of in situ structural determinations of amorphous materials at Mbar pressures.