The beamlines

The Australian Synchrotron provides researchers with access to state-of-the-art facilities, thanks to the on-going investment of successive Australian and New Zealand governments. These investments put the Australian Synchrotron’s facilities on par with the world’s best.

Categories of beamlines

The ANSTO website provides detailed descriptions on the uses and applications of all 18 beamlines, which are grouped into six broad categories:

1. Crystallography: The current Macromolecular and Microfocus Microscopy (MX1, MX2) and the new High Performance Macromolecular Crystallography (MX3) beamline. The MX3 will be used for challenging macromolecular crystallography studies, to build upon the successes and complement the MX1 (bending magnet based) and MX2 (undulator-based, micro-focused) beamlines.
2. Diffraction: The current Powder Diffraction (PD), and the new Advanced Diffraction and Scattering (ADS-1 and ADS-2) beamlines.
3. Imaging: The Imaging and Medical (IM) and the new MicroComputed Tomography (MCT or µCT) beamlines. 
4. Microscopy: The Infrared Microspectroscopy (IRM), X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy (XFM), and the new X-ray Fluorescence Nanoprobe (NANO) beamlines.
5. Spectroscopy: The Soft X-ray Spectroscopy (SXR), the Terahertz/Far-Infrared (Fourier Transform; THz/FTR), the X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS), and the two new Medium Energy X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (MEX-1 and MEX-2) beamlines. Together, their use spans a vast range of elements, functional materials and sample types.
6. Scattering: The Small and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS/WAXS), and the new Biological Small Angle X-ray Scattering (BioSAXS) beamline. Together, this range of beamlines, provide our scientists with powerful research capacity within easy reach.

Together, this range of beamlines provides our scientists with powerful research capacity within easy reach.