Academia
Rapid-access Synchrotron X-ray Scattering for Research Groups
Publication-ready synchrotron data. No proposal. No travel. No beamline expertise required. We provide high-resolution powder diffraction, pair distribution function analysis, and small-angle scattering data with a two-week turnaround and academic-friendly pricing.
Three complementary techniques. One workflow.
PXRD
Phase identification and quantification, crystal structures, microstructure, defects. Improved detection with ~200× better signal-to-noise than lab XRD
Total Scattering / PDF
Local atomic structure of amorphous, nanocrystalline, and disordered phases — bond lengths, coordination environments, cluster sizes — no long-range order required
SAXS
Microstructural properties on the scale of 1–100 nm, e.g., particle size distributions, porosity, and phase distribution
Why use a measurement service instead of writing a proposal?
The traditional route to synchrotron beamtime — proposal writing, submission, peer review, competitive allocation, travel to the facility, on-site operation of complex instrumentation — was designed for frontier research and has served that purpose well. But it was not designed for the researcher who needs routine characterisation of large sets of samples or who needs results on a predictable timeline to inform the next experiment.
We fix the access problem.
Get synchrotron data in ~2 weeks, not 6–12 months. No proposal writing. No travel.
Ship your samples by international courier. We handle sample preparation, measurement at ESRF (ID31) and soon at DESY as well, data reduction, and delivery of publication-ready data through our online portal. The two-week turnaround means that your projects don’t have months of delay waiting for beamtime allocation.
No data processing burden.
You focus on the science. We focus on the data. All raw data are automatically processed with appropriate calibration, geometric and detector-specific corrections, background subtraction, and validation against NIST standards. For PDF, data normalisation and transformation using PDFgetX3 are performed as part of the standard service. Instrumental profile effects are determined for software including TOPAS, GSAS-II, PDFgui, and Diffpy-CMI. You receive analysis-ready data for Rietveld or real-space refinement, together with instrumental resolution functions and starter files.
Scale effortlessly from 5 to 500 samples using the same workflow.
Whether you need a quick phase identification on a few samples or a comprehensive study across an entire parameter space, the process and quality remain identical. No minimum batch requirements. No upper limit on throughput.
Resolution and sensitivity that changes what you can see.
With instrumental resolution of ΔQ/Q < 3·10⁻³ at Q ≈ 1.5 Å⁻¹ — approximately 2–5 times better than a typical Bragg–Brentano diffractometer — you resolve overlapping peaks, detect trace phases down to 0.1–0.01 wt%, and obtain structural detail inaccessible with lab instruments. Groups accustomed to laboratory data routinely discover that features they had attributed to the sample are in fact instrumental artefacts — and conversely, that structural detail of genuine scientific interest becomes accessible for the first time.
The FAIR Data Plan
Academic researchers access the service through our FAIR Data Plan — discounted pricing per measurement, inclusive of sample preparation, data reduction, and an experimental report.
How it works:
- Measurement data are held under a 24-month embargo to protect your publication priority
- After 24 months, data become available as an open resource through the MatScatNet initiative, funded through the OSCARS programme
- This aligns with FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and the digital infrastructure policies of the European Commission
- Credits are valid for 12 months and can be applied flexibly across any scheduled beamtime
What you contribute to:
a growing, curated reference library of high-quality synchrotron powder diffraction and total scattering data — an open resource that benefits the entire research community and enables the development of machine learning methods for structural analysis.
What you get:
synchrotron-quality data at a fraction of the cost of proprietary measurements, with the same data quality, turnaround, and service level.
What does this mean for your research?
Phase identification & quantification (PXRD):
Resolve phases that overlap on lab instruments. Detect trace phases and impurities that sit below lab detection limits. Obtain accurate quantification of components for multiphase mixtures.
Structure solution (PXRD):
Data quality suitable for structure solution of microcrystalline materials from powder diffraction with high reciprocal space resolution for accurate partitioning of intensities and good structural resolution down to approx. 0.69 Å in high-resolution mode.
Local structure & amorphous materials (PDF):
Probe the structure of materials that lack long-range order. Characterize amorphous precursors, nanocrystalline products, disordered intermediates, glassy phases, or ultra-small clusters. Differential PDF isolates the structural contribution of deposited or intercalated species from their host matrix.
Microstructure & mesoscale organisation (SAXS):
Characterize particle size distributions, pore structures, and phase distribution in nanoparticles, framework materials, colloidal systems, or composite architectures.
High-throughput screening & combinatorial studies:
Map phase formation across large parameter spaces including precursor species, synthesis temperature, solution pH, dopant concentration, etc. Statistical analysis, clustering, and compositional mapping across hundreds or thousands of samples — at a throughput no lab instrument can achieve.
Reproducibility & long-term comparability:
Reference standards (NIST LaB₆ SRM 660b, CeO₂, Si SRM 640c) are measured alongside every user batch. Refined lattice parameters demonstrate reproducibility across sessions separated by months. This is not one-off beamtime data — it is a calibrated, traceable measurement service.
Use Cases
How it works
Register
Create an account on the Momentum Transfer data portal. Submit a measurement request.
Ship
Mail your samples by international courier. No special preparation needed for standard powders.
Measure
Synchrotron PXRD/PDF/SAXS on high-throughput beamlines at ESRF (ID31).
1–2 weeks
Results
Publication-ready data delivered through the online portal. Calibrated, background-corrected, with resolution functions and refinement starter files.
within days after measurement
Optional add-ons: Rietveld refinement, PDF analysis, SAXS model fitting, statistical analysis, custom reporting.
Data Analysis
What You Get
Raw and processed data, experimental report
Best For
Groups with in-house analysis expertise, ML/AI training datasets
What You Get
Full phase ID + relative wt%
Best For
Multiphase systems, synthesis and process optimisation
What You Get
Full phase ID + absolute quantification incl. amorphous content
Best For
Mining and minerals; geological studies and waste materials
What You Get
Clustering, compositional mapping
Best For
Combinatorial studies, high-throughput screening
What You Get
Pair distribution function for amorphous, nanocrystalline, and disordered phases
Best For
Nanomaterials, glasses, disordered systems, catalysts
What You Get
Microstructure: phase distribution, particle size, porosity
Best For
Nanoparticles, porous frameworks, colloids, soft matter
Sample Requirements
Technical Infrastructure
Publication Track Record
In 2025 alone, data collected in less than 3 days of total beamtime through the service contributed to over 50 peer-reviewed publications in journals including:
Nature Nanotechnology · Advanced Materials · Advanced Functional Materials · Nano Energy · Angewandte Chemie · Journal of the American Chemical Society · Nature Communications · Advanced Science · Science Advances · ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Research topics span energy storage · thermoelectrics · heterogeneous catalysis · functional ceramics · porous framework materials · high-pressure physics · nanomaterials · pharmaceutical formulations · polymers · metallurgy. A maintained publication list is available at momentum-transfer.com/publications.
The Numbers
1 000+ worldwide
Registered researchers
800+
Customer requests (2025)
8 000+
Individual measurements (2025)
50+
Peer-reviewed publications (2025)
ESRF + DESY (planned)
Synchrotron facilities
Multiple per month
Beamtime sessions
Why this costs less than you think
A laboratory diffractometer costs €250 000+ in capital, plus maintenance, staffing, consumables, and lab space. For a research group requiring high quality data on hundreds of samples per year, the FAIR Data Plan provides synchrotron-quality data — data that surpass what any laboratory instrument can deliver — for a fraction of that cost. No CAPEX. No maintenance. No expert team on your side required.
For groups that need occasional access to high-resolution capabilities, the economics are particularly compelling. You pay for measurements and analysis, not infrastructure.
Multimodal characterisation is becoming more important for advanced materials and frustrated structures. Our service provides access to pair distribution function and small-angle scattering characterisation, often not available in laboratory settings, to complement your analysis over a wide range (approx. 100–0.1 nm) of length-scales.
Let our expert team complement your lab. We can provide advanced analysis capabilities to newcomers, and help onboard your research team to these tools and techniques.
Founded by researchers. Built for researchers.
Momentum Transfer was founded by materials scientists from BASF and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. The company completed its spin-out from BASF's Chemovator incubator in mid-2025 and is headquartered at the DESY Start-up Labs Hamburg. Operations at ESRF continue through a partnership providing regularly scheduled beamtime on ID31. The MEDESES project (BMBF, ErUM-Transfer, 05K24XUA) — a collaboration between DESY, ESRF, and Momentum Transfer — is building identical measurement capability at DESY's P25 beamline, creating a dual-facility platform with cross-comparable data.
Ready to get synchrotron data for your research?
Book a free 30-minute consultation. Discuss your samples, your scientific questions, and which combination of methods makes sense.