Practical Imaging and Diffraction at Synchrotrons

ECTS credits: 5 ECTS

Course parameters:
Language: English
Level of course: PhD course
Time of year: Fall semester 2026, possibly extending into spring semester 2027
No. of contact hours/hours in total incl. preparation, assignment(s) or the like: The course will combine hands-on experiments at the DanMAX beamline at the MAX-IV synchrotron in Lund with preparatory self-study and report-writing. The latter will be coordinated with the participants. The experiments will take place 08/12/2026 starting 08:00 and ends 10/12/2026 – participants are expected to arrive in Lund 7/12/2026 in the morning. The course start 07/12/2026 at 14.00. Capacity limits: 8, attendants will be selected based on application

Objectives of the course:
How does one, in practice, go about conducting a synchrotron experiment on complicated hierarchical and/or multiscale materials? This will be addressed in this course involving 2-day hands-on experiments as part of the Aarhus University-run PhD course on hierarchical materials. The students will used conventional PXRD, 2D scanning µXRD + µXRF, and µCT to study bone at various dimensions and length scales. Bone is used as example of a hierarchical multiscale material but the techniques presented are applicable across many fields including energy materials, materials chemistry, biomineralization, biomaterials, architectured materials etc.

Learning outcomes and competences:
At the end of the course, the student should be able to:

• Describe practical aspects of simple pencil beam scanning based imaging and tomography at synchrotrons
• Relate how these techniques can be applied to themes relevant for the phd project of the student
• Sketch data analysis approaches for analysis of scanning XRD/XRF and micronscale tomography on bone
• Pass a safety course at a synchrotron facility

Compulsory programme:
Active participation during the full experimental program 

Course contents (preliminary):

1. Beamline overview
2. introduction to powder diffraction/fluorescence based scanning microscopy
3. introduction to tomography
4. practical considerations for scanning XRD/XRF microscopy
5. practical considerations for synchrotron tomography

Prerequisites:
A background in chemistry, materials science, biophysics, structural biology or similar corresponding to a completed Masters program

Name of lecturers:
Henrik Birkedal
Mads Ry Vogel Jørgensen
Thorbjørn E. K. Christrensen
Maja Østergaard

Type of course/teaching methods:
Hands on experimentation of MAX IV synchrotron

Literature:
Research articles, including review papers

Course homepage:
None

Course assessment:
Based on active participation

Provider:
Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University

Time:
The course will combine hands-on experiments at the DanMAX beamline at the MAX-IV synchrotron in Lund with preparatory self-study and report-writing. The latter will be coordinated with the participants. The experiments will take place 08/12/2026 starting 08:00 and ends 10/12/2026 – participants are expected to arrive in Lund 7/12/2026 in the morning. The course start 07/12/2026 at 14.00.  

Place:
MAX IV Laboratory, Fotongatan 2, 224 84 Lund

Registration:
webforms.au.dk/apps/postlister/oprettelseTrin2.asp