Development of Low Temperature and High Magnetic Field X-Ray Diffraction Facility

TL;DR

This paper describes the development of a novel low temperature and high magnetic field X-ray diffraction facility in India, enabling detailed structural studies of materials under non-ambient conditions to understand magneto-elastic correlations.

Contribution

The paper introduces a state-of-the-art LTHM XRD setup capable of operating at 2-300 K and up to ±8 T magnetic field, with demonstrated application on magnetic materials.

Findings

Field-induced phase transition observed in Pr0.5Sr0.5MnO3

Structural changes under magnetic field demonstrated

Facility enables non-ambient structural studies

Abstract

The current progress of materials science regarding multifunctional materials (MFM) has put forward the challenges to understand the microscopic origin of their properties. Most of such MFMs have magneto-elastic correlations. To investigate the underlying mechanism, it is therefore essential to investigate the structural properties in the presence of magnetic field. Keeping this in view low temperature and high magnetic field (LTHM) powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), a unique state-of-art facility in India has been developed at CSR Indore. This setup works on symmetric Bragg Brentano geometry using a parallel incident x-ray beam from a rotating anode source working at 17 kW. Using this one can do structural studies at non-ambient conditions i.e. at low- temperatures (2-300 K) and high magnetic field (+8 to -8 T). The available scattering angle ranges from 5{\deg} to 115{\deg} 2{\theta} with a resolution better than 0.1{\deg}. The proper functioning of the setup has been checked using Si sample. The effect of magnetic field on the structural properties has been demonstrated on Pr0.5Sr0.5MnO3 sample. Clear effect of field induced phase transition has been observed. Moreover, the effect of zero field cooled and field cooled conditions is also observed.