New 30 T, 50 mm bore magnet ready for users

A newly designed magnet has recently been installed at HFML, which gives users more space to work in than the previous 32 mm bore magnet.

Although almost all experiments can be accomodated in the usual 32 mm bore of the existing magnets, for some experiments (high pressure cells, high resolution microscopy in a field, homogenizing the field with shimming, testing superconducting wires, ..) a larger bore is mandatory. This new coil will render such experiments possible. At the moment the maximum magnetic field for users is limited to 30.4 T, which will in the near future be increased to 31 T, while the designed maximum field value is 32 T. The magnet features three new, in-house designed inner coils , which are more efficient than the previously installed 32 mm bore, 33 T magnet. For instance the new magnet consumes not more power at 30.4 T than the previous magnet at 33.0 T in spite of the much larger bore. A measure for efficiency is the ratio B(a₁/P)^1/2, which is equal to 38.5 T(mm/MW)^1/2 compared to 35.5 T(mm/MW)^1/2 for the previous magnet. The succesful testing of this new magnet is a major step forward for HFML because previously the laboratory did not possess the necessary in house technology to design and realize new magnets. It is hoped that the new experimental possibilities allowed by the wider bore dimension will further enhance the appeal of HFML for science in high magnetic fields.