HIGH PRESSURE HIGH TEMPERATURE MATERIALS PROCESSING

该研究提案的目的是使沃里克钻石研究小组能够利用一个独特的机会，获得一个高温高压四面体金刚石压机（HTHP压机），用于在稳定压力下进行极端高温材料加工。这台HPHT四面体金刚石压机可以承受高达3000摄氏度的温度和高达20 GPa（相当于200万个大气压）的静水压力，相当于600公里以上的深度。HPHT印刷机是由Element Six Ltd为位于Mauryhead的Diamond Trading Company研究中心的一个内部研究项目建造的，该中心现在不再经常使用其功能，并愿意将其捐赠给沃里克大学，作为他们继续支持大学研究的一部分。HPHT出版社将在英国提供世界领先的最先进的能力，使新的科学和创新的研究计划。可行性研究的最初重点将放在HPHT金刚石加工上，但HPHT四面体金刚石压机对其他材料研究产生重大影响的潜力也不容忽视。在可行性研究中获得的数据将使知情和集中的全面研究建议，利用极端的加工条件，这将遵循。材料的许多重要的物理和技术上有用的性质是通过在高温下加工获得的，并通过扩散来控制。金刚石的特殊性质（如电子、光学、机械等）和合成方面的最新进展为研究金刚石中的扩散提供了学术和技术动力。需要非常高的温度来引发金刚石中的体扩散，但在这些温度下，金刚石不稳定，除非施加非常大的压力，否则将转化为石墨。这台HPHT压机提供了使能技术，该技术将允许通过使用二次离子质谱法监测浓度分布，在HPHT退火前后，对金刚石中的自扩散和杂质扩散进行研究。具有碳同位素丰度（12 C：13 C）或杂质（例如氮、硼、氢等）浓度突然变化的界面的样品可用于这些可行性研究。除了扩散实验外，还将进行高温高压退火研究，以研究掺杂剂活化的可行性，去除降低电子/光学性能的缺陷，以及在非常高的温度下缺陷复合物形成/分解的动力学。英国研究小组在世界领先的金刚石研究方面享有盛誉。该项目致力于建立一个新的英国研究工作，通过访问极端的加工条件，这将导致钻石科学的突破，并促进钻石的新技术应用。

The purpose of the research proposal is to enable the Warwick Diamond Research Group to take advantage of a unique opportunity to acquire a High Temperature High Pressure Tetrahedral Diamond Press (HTHP Press) for extreme high-temperature materials processing under stabilising pressures. This HPHT Tetrahedral Diamond Press can access temperatures up to 3000 deg C and hydrostatic pressures up to 20 GPa (equivalent to 2 million atmospheres), which is equivalent to a depth of >600 km. The HPHT Press was constructed by Element Six Ltd for an in-house research project at the Diamond Trading Company research Centre, Maidenhead, who now no longer routinely utilise its capabilities and are willing donate it to the University of Warwick as part of their continued support for University research. The HPHT Press would provide a world leading, state of the art capability in the UK, enabling new science and innovative research programmes. The initial focus of the feasibility studies will be on HPHT diamond processing, however the potential of the HPHT Tetrahedral Diamond Press to impact significantly on the research of other materials will not be overlooked. The data obtained in the feasibility studies will enable informed and focused full research proposals, utilising the extreme processing conditions, which will follow. Many of the important physical and technologically useful properties of materials are obtained by processing at elevated temperatures and are controlled by diffusion. The exceptional properties of diamond (e.g. electronic, optical, mechanical etc) and recent advances in synthesis provide the academic and technological motivation to study diffusion in diamond. Very high temperatures are required to initiate bulk diffusion in diamond, but at these temperatures diamond is not stable and will convert to graphite unless very large pressures are applied. This HPHT Press provides enabling technology that will allow investigation of self and impurity diffusion in diamond via monitoring concentration profiles with Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy, pre and post HPHT annealing. Samples with interfaces where the carbon isotope abundance (12C:13C) or the impurity (e.g. nitrogen, boron, hydrogen etc) concentration changes abruptly are available for these feasibility studies. In addition to diffusion experiments, HPHT annealing studies will be performed to investigate the feasibility of dopant activation, the removal of defects which degrade the electronic/optical properties and the kinetics of defect complex formation/dissociation at very high temperatures.UK research groups have a reputation for world leading diamond research. This project strives to establish a new UK research effort by accessing the extreme processing conditions which should lead to breakthroughs in diamond science and facilitate new technological applications of diamond.