Microfabrication of controlled-geometry samples for the laser-heated diamond-anvil cell using focused ion beam technology.

The pioneering of x-ray diffraction with in situ laser heating in the diamond-anvil cell has revolutionized the field of high-pressure mineral physics, expanding the ability to determine high-pressure, high-temperature phase boundaries and equations of state. Accurate determination of high-pressure, high-temperature phases and densities in the diamond-anvil cell rely upon collinearity of the x-ray beam with the center of the laser-heated spot. We present the development of microfabricated samples that, by nature of their design, will have the sample of interest in the hottest portion of the sample.