Development of an Innovative Wide Aperture Vector Magnet: WAVE

WAVE is a 1-T vector magnet for neutron scattering experiments. It will expand the range of experimental possibilities since applying a 3-D magnetic field and orienting the sample in diffraction conditions will become completely independent. The WAVE magnet is made of 16 coils, all with a vertical axis. The vertical component of the field is produced by four flat coils (two coils in quasi-Helmholtz position and two coils for active shielding), whereas the horizontal components are generated by three sets of four coils each, i.e., two above and two below the diffraction plane connected in an antisymmetric way. The very wide aperture (220° horizontal, ±10° vertical) is crucial for neutron diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering experiments. The homogeneity of the field is in the range of 500 ppm, and the diameter of the sample bore is large (100 mm). The design concepts of WAVE are NbTi solenoids imbedded in an aluminum box, indirectly cooled by liquid helium circulating in a thermosiphon loop and exchanging with a cryocooler. The WAVE coils are energized by four current supplies through HTS current leads. WAVE will be used as a sample environment on neutron scattering instruments relevant for magnetism studies and thus available to a large community of users. This equipment, which is based on an innovative design (Patent FR12 62 070, US extension 14/105,711), is developed with an industrial partner. The magnet will be commissioned in 2017.