Development of technique for high-pressure single-crystal neutron scattering and its application to studies of magnetic materials

In this article, a new high-pressure apparatus for single-crystal magnetic neutron diffraction under 10 GPa is described. First, new hybrid-anvil, which is composed of an opposed pair of a supported SiC anvil and a tungsten carbide (WC) anvil with a center-dimpled culet, is introduced. Next, results of an investigation of pressure-transmitting media are shown. The hydrostaticity of the media is essential for the single-crystal diffraction experiments. Finally, a thermal neutron focusing device with a lot of curved supermirrors is shown. The device can compensate weak magnetic signals from tiny samples in high-pressure cells. As examples of the studies using the apparatus, the high-pressure single-crystal magnetic neutron diffraction experiments on 4f-electron systems PrFe4P12 and HoB2C2 are taken up. (author)