Abstract
We have constructed a 1500-ton deformation DIA (D-DIA) type apparatus (MADONNA) and a 6000-ton Kawai-type multianvil apparatus (BOTCHAN) at SOSEKI laboratory, Geodynamics Research Center (GRC), Ehime University. A newly designed 6-6 type cell has been successfully operated in MADONNA, demonstrating potential importance of this apparatus for rheological studies of materials under the pressure and temperature conditions of the Earth's lower mantle. In contrast, BOTCHAN is designed for synthesizing high-quality sintered bodies of high-pressure phases, as well as to make large single crystals, utilizing its large sample volume. Ultrahard nano-polycrystalline diamond (NPD=HIME-DIA) rods of about 8 mm in both diameter and length have been successfully synthesized using BOTCHAN, which may be used as new anvil material for advancement of high-pressure technology for deep Earth mineralogy.
