Synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction studies in pulsed magnetic fields

X-ray powder diffraction experiments under pulsed magnetic fields were carried out at the DUBBLE beamline (BM26B) at the ESRF. A mobile generator delivered 110kJ to the magnet coil, which was sufficient to generate peak fields of 30T. A liquid He flow cryostat allowed us to vary the sample temperature accurately between 8 and 300K. Powder diffraction patterns of several samples were recorded using 21keV monochromatic x-rays and an on-line image plate detector. Here we present the first results on the suppression of the Jahn-Teller structural distortion in TbVO4 by magnetic field. These data clearly demonstrate the feasibility of x-ray powder diffraction experiments under pulsed magnetic fields with relatively inexpensive instrumentation.