ABSTRACT
What is nowadays termed Paris-Edinburgh cells (PECs), or Paris-Edinburgh presses, are compact hydraulic presses with capacities (=maximal forces) between 50 and 500 tonnes which compress samples of typically 1-100 mm3
volume using in general opposed anvils made of some sintered materials (tungsten carbide, diamond, boron nitride). The name refers hence to the type of load frame, not to the type of anvils, very much in the spirit of the “MerrillBasset”, “Mao-Bell”, and “Syassen-Holzapfel” cells used in diamond anvil technology. “Compact” means in this context more or less portable, i.e. the presses have masses of only 10-100 kg, despite their considerable capacities. Paris-Edinburgh cells were developed in the early 1990s in a program initiated by Nelmes (University of Edinburgh) and Besson (University of Paris) for neutron scattering in the 0-10 GPa range on spallation sources, at that time the U.K. ISIS facility [85]. The technology has spread meanwhile over four continents and has found high pressure applications beyond neutron scattering. Since PECs are distributed by a sole company with strong links to the groups who initiated the program, the pool of pressure cells is homogenous and compatible worldwide. This provides an enormous advantage for users who tend to work on multiple neutron sources and who carry high pressure equipment between them. The impact of PECs on the landscape of high pressure neutron scattering cannot be underestimated, and it is likely that this technique will continue to play a major role in the future, even on medium-intensity sources. A large part of this book will hence be devoted to this subject.
