Intensive research on advanced materials has led to the discovery of new compounds with spectacular properties driven by quantum correlation effects. Studies of these materials under high magnetic fields are of fundamental importance since magnetic field finely tunes the delicate balance between different correlation effects. Because of the strong dependence of these interactions on the atomic arrangement, the determination of the correct crystal structure at these extreme conditions is a prerequisite for the validation of any model of the ordered state and of the underlying interactions. In this context, numerous initiatives have been undertaken recently to develop X-ray techniques (diffraction, absorption spectroscopy) in high magnetic fields.

Here, we report X-ray powder diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) experiments carried out at the ESRF (beamlines BM26B, ID20 and ID24) in 20 ms long pulsed magnetic fields. For these experiments, a mobile pulsed magnetic field installation developed at the LNCMP, Toulouse, was used to generate peak fields of 30T with a rise time of about 5 ms. A liquid He flow cryostat allowed us to vary the sample temperature accurately between 4.2 and 300K.

Powder diffraction patterns of several samples were recorded in a broad temperature range using 21 keV monochromatic X-rays and an online image plate detector exposed for 5 ms around the maximum of the field pulse. More particularly, we observed the effect of large magnetic fields on the Jahn-Teller distortion of TbVO₄.

XAS spectra could be measured and finite XMCD signals, directly proportional to the magnetic moment on the Gd absorber atom, were measured in thin Gd foils. The detector used was a CCD FReLoN (Fast Readout Low Noise) camera which allows to record spectra with high enough frame rates and gives the possibility to track the evolution of the signal as a function of field strength during the pulse.

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