Recent Advances in Static Compression Science at XFELs and Synchrotrons

The diamond anvil cell (DAC) can exert multi-megabar pressures on samples by virtue of the very small volume of sample it compresses, which may be as small as 5microns in diameter and 1 micron thick on initial compression. In recent years, advances in x-ray focussing optics, and upgrades to the magnetic lattices of the 3rd generation synchrotrons such as the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), have resulted in the production of high-energy x-ray beams, focussed to sub-micron dimensions, which are ideally suited for probing such very small samples. Simultaneously, the start-up of the European XFEL (EuXFEL) has led to a long-awaited research programme using DACs on an XFEL, where the high-energy x-ray pulses can be used to both pump and probe samples contained within DACs.

In this talk, I will describe results from recent DAC experiments at the PETRA-III and ESRF-EBS synchrotrons, and at the EuXFEL, which highlight the new scientific opportunities offered by such facilities. I will also look to see what experiments might be done on such facilities in the future, and also on other “next-generation” x-ray sources such as APS-U, PETRA-IV and LCLC-II.