A state-of-the-art 12 Tesla (12 T) asymmetric magnet, the world’s highest field all-high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet for neutron scattering, has successfully passed factory acceptance testing and is now in France, en route to the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, the world’s flagship centre for neutron science.
Developed by a team led by principal HTS magnet designer Dr Taotao Huang, this powerful new magnet represents a significant technological achievement.
Once installed, it will offer researchers ultra-long liquid helium autonomy and unprecedented ease of use to switch, control and discover the properties of materials.
HTS magnet meets performance and safety criteria
The successful factory acceptance test confirms that the magnet meets the stringent performance and safety criteria required for operation at a leading international research facility, such as the ILL.
“We are incredibly proud to have reached this critical milestone,” said Dr Taotao Huang.
This is a world first for this class of neutron scattering magnet using a HTS conductor, and it represents a significant leap beyond the liquid-helium-based LTS magnets.”
The importance of magnetic fields in materials research
Magnetic fields are a crucial tool for materials research, enabling scientists to manipulate the magnetic moments, or ‘spins’, of atoms and electrons within a sample. By combining a powerful 12 T field with the ILL’s intense neutron beams, researchers can gain deeper insights into the fundamental properties of matter, thereby accelerating the development in fields such as computing, energy, and medicine.
A key feature of the magnet is its compatibility with a dilution refrigerator (DR) insert, allowing for experiments at milli-Kelvin temperatures.
The magnet will be integrated into the ILL’s world-class diffractometers and three-axis spectrometers, where it will be available to researchers from 65 countries who visit the facility each year.
