Neutron Scattering at Highest Magnetic Fields at the Helmholtz Centre Berlin

Abstract

The Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HZB), formerly Hahn-Meitner Institute is a user facility for the study of structure and dynamics with neutrons and synchrotron radiation with special emphasis on experiments under extreme conditions. Neutron scattering is uniquely suited to study magnetic properties on a microscopic length scale, because neutrons have comparable wavelengths and, due to their magnetic moment, they interact with the atomic magnetic moments. At HZB a dedicated instrument for neutron scattering at extreme fields is under construction, the Extreme Environment Diffractometer ExED. It is projected according to the “time-of-flight” principle for elastic and inelastic neutron scattering and for the special geometric constraints of analysing samples in a high field magnet. The new magnet will not only allow for novel experiments, it will be at the forefront of development in magnet technology itself. The design of the magnet will follow the Series Connected Hybrid System Technology (SCH) developed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) in Tallahassee, Florida. To compromise between the needs of the magnet design for highest fields and the concept of the neutron instrument, the magnetic field will be generated by means of a coned solenoid with horizontal field orientation. By using resistive insert coils, which are mounted in the room temperature bore of a superconducting cable-in-conduit (CIC) magnet, fields above 30 Tesla can be obtained in a geometry optimised for the demands of neutron scattering.