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Abstract
The ability to remotely control pressure in diamond anvil cells (DACs) in accurate
and consistent manner at room temperature, as well as at cryogenic and elevated temperatures,
is crucial for effective and reliable operation of a high-pressure synchrotron facility
such as High Pressure Collaborative Access Team (HPCAT). Over the last several years,
a considerable effort has been made to develop instrumentation for remote and automated
pressure control in DACs during synchrotron experiments. We have designed and implemented
an array of modular pneumatic (double-diaphragm), mechanical (gearboxes), and piezoelectric
devices and their combinations for controlling pressure and compression/decompression
rate at various temperature conditions from 4 K in cryostats to several thousand Kelvin
in laser-heated DACs. Because HPCAT is a user facility and diamond cells for user
experiments are typically provided by users, our development effort has been focused
on creating different loading mechanisms and frames for a variety of existing and
commonly used diamond cells rather than designing specialized or dedicated diamond
cells with various drives. In this paper, we review the available instrumentation
for remote static and dynamic pressure control in DACs and show some examples of their
applications to high pressure research.