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Magnetic fields provide a contact-free and versatile experimental “knob” for tuning in different properties of matter [1, 2]. There are numerous research laboratories and groups worldwide dedicated to studies of materials in magnetic fields. General themes of their research encompass such diverse topics and materials as competing order in superconductors, geometrically frustrated magnets, multi-ferroic oxides, quantum phase transitions, meta-magnetism, quantum Hall effects, orbital physics, spin-gap compounds, microstructures in melts, biological systems, magnetic aggregates, etc. Nearly all such studies of materials in extreme magnetic fields (>15 Tesla), however, have been focused on transport, thermodynamic, and some optical spectroscopic measurements. Detailed information on the atomic-scale nature of the magnetic field induced phases, on the other hand, has continued to remain unexplored, leading to a knowledge gap in our understanding of these systems. Synchrotron scattering studies can provide a me...

A decade-long effort at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) on development of superconducting undulators culminated in December 2012 with the installation of the first superconducting undulator ``SCU0'' into Sector 6 of the APS storage ring. The device was commissioned in January 2013 and has been in user operation since. This paper presents the magnetic and cryogenic design of the SCU0 together with the results of stand-alone cold tests. The initial commissioning and characterization of SCU0 as well as its operating experience in the APS storage ring are described.

We present a pulsed-magnet system that enables x-ray single-crystal diffraction in addition to powder and spectroscopic studies with the magnetic field applied on or close to the scattering plane. The apparatus consists of a single large-bore solenoid, cooled by liquid nitrogen. A second independent closed-cycle cryostat is used for cooling samples near liquid helium temperatures. Pulsed magnetic fields close to $\sim 30$ T with a zero-to-peak-field rise time of $\sim$2.9 ms are generated by discharging a 40 kJ capacitor bank into the magnet coil. The unique characteristic of this instrument is the preservation of maximum scattering angle ($\sim 23.6^\circ$) on the entrance and exit sides of the magnet bore by virtue of a novel double-funnel insert. This instrument will facilitate x-ray diffraction and spectroscopic studies that are impractical, if not impossible, to perform using split-pair and narrow-opening solenoid magnets, and offers a practical solution for preserving optical access in future higher-field pulsed magnets., Comment: Accepted for publication in Rev. Sci. Instrum

The engineering of a dual-cryostat for a pulsed-magnet instrument at the Advanced Photon Source is presented. The dual-cryostat independently cools the magnet coil (using liquid-nitrogen) and the sample (using a closed-cycle refrigerator). Liquid-nitrogen cooling may allow a repetition rate of a few minutes for peak fields near 30 T. The system is unique in that the liquid-nitrogen cryostat incorporates a double-funnel vacuum tube passing through the solenoid's bore in order to preserve the entire angular range allowed by the magnet bore for scattering studies. Second, the use of a separate refrigerator for the sample allows precise positioning of samples in the bore while minimizing magnet vibrations propagating to the sample during pulsed-field generation.