DOE Development of Designer Diamonds Research Team Facilities Patents What is a designer diamond anvil? Electrical Measurements Using Designer Diamond Anvils Multitasking Designer Diamonds -- Vertical Integration of Multiple Sensors Isotopically-Enriched Designer-Diamond Anvil Research Publications resulting from the grant High Pressure Materials Research Contact Us	Figure 1.	What is a designer diamond anvil? In a traditional diamond anvil, the electrical microprobes and microcircuits are external to the diamond crystal and usually encompass a much larger probe region than the high-pressure region of the diamond anvil cell. The assembly process for these external sensors is very tedious and electrical microprobes in the sample region are exposed to flow stresses, plastic deformation, and inhomogeneous pressure conditions. In a designer anvil, electrical microprobes and microcircuits are built in to the diamonds. An example of a fully fabricated designer anvil is shown in Fig. 1. The close proximity of these built in sensors in designer anvils gives rise to high sample-filling factors and provide researcher with tools of unparallel sensitivity. Designer diamond anvils can perform multiple measurement tasks at high pressures and can survive multi-megabar pressures. In the next decade, designer diamond cell technology will expand DAC research in to new directions with improved sensitivity.
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	Figure 1: (a) Photomicrograph of the designer loop anvil shown in reflected light. The central flat is 300 micron in size and the electrical microprobe emerging from the lower right hand corner underneath the central flat is connected to an electrical pad near the girdle of the anvil (b) same anvil in transmitted light showing the electrical micro-loop buried under the central flat and its connecting probe to the sample in the middle.

For Questions regarding Department of Energy Development of Designer Diamond Technology Webpages, contact: Charita Cadenhead
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Physics