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Annual reports

Key points

The 1970 to 1990 ILL Annual Reports have little to say about pressure cells.

1972 or 1973
Rudolf Mossbauer creates the "Sample environment" service including cryogenics, high temperatures, high pressures, high fields which was attached to the "Instruments" service (J.-C. Faudou) and then later to EDEX (D. Wheeler).

1979
4 kbar gas pressure cell, usable up to 4 K. The cryostat is under construction.

1983
Most of the experiments under hydrostatic pressure require the use of a gas pressure generator.
Accurate pressure calibration is under way.
Clamped pressure cells made of maraging steel and copper beryllium alloy: Pressures up to 10 kbar can be achieved by using C8F18 as pressure medium. Even higher pressure values can be achieved with clamped Al2O3 cells.
Some experiments performed on crystals subjected to uniaxial stress.

1985
New aluminium alloy pressure cells (P=5 kbar), manganin pressure gauges.
Collaboration with the CENG for the testing and use of clamp-type pressure cells.
Design of more compact 30 kbar pressure cells.
Development of a uniaxial stress device compatible with low temperatures and high magnetic fields.

1986
CuBe cells can be used up to 10 kbar and cooled down to 70 mK. Pressure is determined by measuring the lattice constant of NaCl mounted with the sample.
To test the connection: Construction of magnetic CuBe cells (20-25 kbar) and testing of Al2O3  cells (30-35 kbar).

1987
5 kbar: experiments made easier thanks to the “standardisation” of pressure cells.
High-temperature 3 kbar: CuBe cell.
Al2O3 cells: not reliable!

1988
30 kbar cells: still not fully operational!
Loss of one technician but Klaus Gobretch (a part-time engineer) is working on the development of a new high-pressure cell.

1990
The group is assigned an extra person.
Christian Vettier gives up his role as scientific animator and local contact.
Klaus Gobretch replaces him in part.