Techniques

Compression techniques

A variety of techniques are available to compress macroscopic samples of matter to high pressures in excess of 100 GPa (1 million atmospheres), including:

  • laser-driven mass ablation ("direct drive")
  • thermal x-ray drive ("indirect drive")
  • pulsed power ("magnetic drive")
  • gas gun impactors
  • diamond anvil cell [DAC] ("static" compression)

In some cases, combinations of the above can be fielded, such as laser drive of DAC-compressed samples. See also our facilities page.

Diagnostic and analysis techniques

  • shock-wave impedance matching
  • optical reflectivity and thermal emission spectroscopy
  • ramp wave analysis
  • x-ray absorption fine structure [XAFS] and x-ray absorption near-edge structure [XANES]
  • x-ray diffraction [XRD]
  • x-ray radiography
  • proton radiography