A cubic boron nitride gasket for diamond-anvil experiments.

To maximize the thickness of the sample chamber in high-pressure experiments, we have conducted tests and have developed techniques relevant to the cubic boron nitride (c-BN) gasket for diamond-anvil cells. The c-BN gasket provides a sample chamber several times thicker than conventional metal gaskets. We have developed methods to prepare the gasket and to fill the chamber with the sample. By using the c-BN gasket, we have successfully measured x-ray diffraction patterns of SiO2 glass, a low-Z noncrystalline sample, up to 100 GPa.