Construction of high-pressure neutron diffractometer PLANET and the realization of high-pressure and high-temperature neutron experiments

Hattori, Takanori   ; Sano, Asami   ; Arima, Hiroshi*

High-Pressure Neutron Diffractometer PLANET constructed at BL11 in MLF is the first neutron spectrometer dedicated to high-pressure and high-temperature (high-PT) experiments. This aims at revealing the effects of water on the physical properties of the Earth. The beamline is equipped with the multi-anvil press "ATSUHIME" that can generate high-PT condition very stably, and is able to conduct high-PT neutron experiments at 16 GPa and 1000C. The most characteristic feature of the beamline is, beside the above high-PT generation capability, that we can obtain very clean diffraction patterns with no Bragg peaks from sample surroundings, such as a heater and anvils. These characters enable us to analyze the structure not only of crystals, but also of liquids and amorphous solids. In this talk, I will introduce the performance of the spectrometer, recent results and future plan of the PLANET, together with the history of the construction.