Using an XPinch source on gas gun to detect phase transition.

Understanding the phase transition material under dynamic loading is of great interest in materials science. However the comprehension of the mechanisms governing such phenomena remains a great issue. Past studies have shown that macroscopic measurements on shocked materials do not provide enough information to fully understand the various processes involved. X-ray diffraction is a complementary technique that brings a new insight for studying materials at the atomic scale on shocked single crystals or polycrystalline materials. Tin is a material of great interest, it possesses a low pressure beta solid- gamma solid phase transition at 9 GPa. We are developing a novel experimental setup based on a compact High Pulsed Power generator capable of producing intense X radiation by generating a plasma through an X-pinch. This source is specifically designed for time-resolved X-ray diffraction in reflexion geometry on gas gun experiments at laboratory scale. We propose to describe this source and the promising preliminary data obtained under static and shock conditions.