Multi-functional cryostat compatible with laser heating
Synthesizing new materials and preserving them at PT conditions where they can be studied in detail can present serous challenge. For example some metal hydrides, which exhibit high temperature superconductivity at high pressure, can be synthesized in Diamond Anvil Cell using laser heating techniques, but often can only be preserved at low temperature through fast quenching (µs time frame) to cryogenic temperatures. To enhance synthesis capability of such materials we have designed the cryostat compatible with HPCAT’s stationary laser heating system located in 16-IDB. The cryostat has a modular design allowing quick modifications for use with different Diamond Anvil Cells and different pressure drives (e.g. double membrane compression / decompression drive, piezo drive, mechanical (screw) drive, etc.). The cryostat features stable sample holder design (no sample motion during cryogenic cooling of a DAC) and flexibility to use various functional DAC attachments such as modulation coils for magnetic susceptibility measurements. The modular flexible design and abundance of electrical feed-throughs (e.g. coaxial connectors reading weak signal from signal pickup coil) allows integration of multiple sample synthesis and analytical techniques, e.g. the sample can be synthesized at high temperature using laser heating setup with in-situ online x-ray diffraction characterization, and then magnetic susceptibility and Raman spectra can be measured after rapid cooling of the sample to cryogenic temperatures. This unique instrument is scheduled to be commissioned in mid-February 2018 and will be first used for synthesis and in-situ characterization of high Tc superconductive metal hydrides.