Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory

The Advanced Photon Source is a third generation synchrotron source that is the premier x-ray facility in the United States. In recent years, our group has been active users of the GSECARS (sector 13) HPCAT (sector 16) and DCS (sector 35) beamlines. A major focus has been to combine diamond anvil cell techniques with laser heating (using a high-powered infrared laser) to simultaneously achieve extremes of pressure and temperature -- up to 300 GPa and 3000 K.

Capabilities include:  laser and external heating, x-ray diffraction of powders and single crystals, x-ray scattering and spectroscopy experiments, Brillouin spectroscopy, high-pressure gas loading, diamond anvil cell and large-volume press apparatus.

In 1995-96, T. Duffy helped to initiate the diamond cell program at GSECARS by serving as the first beamline scientist. The results of the first high-pressure experiments at APS (carried out in 13-ID-A) are published here. We have been regular users of APS facilities ever since.

Examples of recent projects:
​—Raj Dutta:  High-pressure phase in germanium oxides
—Camelia Stan:   Perovskite and post-perovskites in the (Mg,Fe)GeO3 system
—Susannah Dorfman:  Electronic transitions in almandine composition glass
—Greg Finkelstein:  New phase transitions in single-crystal forsterite to 90 GPa