In 1985, the High Pressure Laboratory was established with an Instrumentation and Facilities grant from the NSF Division of Earth Sciences which supported the acquisition of two types of multi-anvil, large-volume, high-pressure apparatus; one for synthesis experiments to 30 GPa and 3000 K and another for in situ X-ray diffraction studies to 15 GPa and 2000 K. These devices are distinguished by their large sample volumes and by the ability to adjust and control the temperature and stress environment surrounding the sample. These new facilities were housed in a 2000 sq. ft. building renovated by the university and located just behind the Earth and Space Sciences building, and are currently supported by CHiPR at Stony Brook and the USB via its support for the MPI.
One device is a 2000-ton uniaxial split-sphere apparatus (USSA-2000) which is capable of generating pressures to 30 GPa and temperatures of 3000 K for sample volumes of 3 mm3, or pressures of 10 GPa for sample volumes of 30 mm3. It is particularly well-suited for synthesis experiments which require the generations of simultaneous high pressures and temperatures in large sample volumes for sustained periods of time. The recovered samples are later studied by a variety of analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction, electron microprobe and microscopy, Brillouin and Raman spectroscopy, and ultrasonics, in other MPI laboratories.
The second type of high-pressure device is a DIA-type cubic anvil apparatus (SAM-85), which is especially designed for in situ X-ray diffraction experiments at pressures up bto 15 GPa at temperatures of 2000 K in sample volumes of 10 mm3. This apparatus is being used in conjunction with the superconducting wiggle beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source of the nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory for sudies of equations of state, kinetics and phase equilibria of transformations, and strength of materials at elevated pressures and temperatures.
Microbeam Laboratory
The Microbeam Laboratory contains the electron microprobe analyzer and the transmission electron microscope.
The microprobe is a fully automated Cameca Camebax micro-analyzer. The system includes four wavelength-dispersive spectrometers and a Kevex 800 energy-dispersive spectrometer, all interfaced with a Macintosh computer. The computer system operates under RSX-11 software that allows for multi-user, timesharing operation. The system also has color graphics capability. The laboratory contains petrographic microscopes and complete sample preparation facilities as well. Its operation is overseen by Research Assistant Professor Greg Symmes.
The Microbeam Laboratory also houses a 200-kV JEOL transmission electron microscope (TEM). This unit is used extensively for imaging microstructures for electron diffraction. Imaging is also possible in secondary electron and back-scattered and electron modes. A heating stage allows observation of temperature-induced structural changes in thin specimens. Imaging capabilities are complemented by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis run from a Macintosh computer. Its operation is under the supervision of Richard Reeder.
Mineralogy-Crystallography
The institute's X-Ray Diffraction Laboratory is one of the best-equipped laboratories in the country for mineralogical crystallography, and consists of two computer-controlled single-crystal diffractometers, two powder diffractometers, eight Buerger precision cameras, a Weissenberg camera, diamond cells, and furnaces for high-temperature/high-pressure diffraction studies. These are supported by several microcomputers and networked MicroVAX and VAX workstations with high- resolution graphics capabilities. The study of iron-bearing minerals and determinations of ferrous-ferric ratios in minerals can be undertaken using the department's Elscint Mossbauer spectrometer and ancillary equipment. The operation of this laboratory is overseen by John Parise with the assistance of MPI Technical Associate Kenneth Baldwin.
Electronics and Machine Shops
All of the MPI's research facilities are supported by the electronics and machine R & D shops in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences. These shops have three permanent, full-time electronics engineers and four permanent, full-time machinists with complete facilities for the design and fabrication of prototype electronics and mechanical devices.