Supervisor: Dr Eugene Gregoryanz

Since its invention in the late 1950's, the diamond anvil cell (DAC) has been at the forefront of high pressure research.  Using this simple device, in which a very small sample is compressed between two gem-quality diamond anvils. prssuer of 1 million atmospheres (100GPa) were achieved in the late 1970's and, since then, the highest achievable pressure has risen to above 400GPa - a pressure higher than that at the centre of the earth.  Attaining 100GPa is now relatively routine.  Attaining 200GPa is much more specialised, while attaining above 300GPa has only ever been achieved by a handful of researchers.

We have recently compressed Na to above 200GPa in CSEC, and have focussed ion-beam facilities funded with the stated aim of routinely achieving pressures above 300GPa.  Using this studentship, we propose to train a student in the highly technical skills of achieving pressures above 300GPa with a DAC.  The science to be conductwed during the studentship will focus on the behaviour of hydrogen (deuterium) over the widest range of pressures and temperatures, in particular the aim of studying the proposed metallic phase above 300GPa.  Working the ultra-high pressure hydrogen is extremely difficult - a person who can work with such a sample can also work (more easily) with any other.

The PhD student will be trained to work with multi-megabar DACs, including loading them with gases such as H₂, D₂ and He.  They will be trained to utilise Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffration to study their samples.  At the completion of the studentship, we will have a researcher who is one of only a handful of people worldwide who can work at such P-T conditions.