Diamond Light Source is a centre of excellence for applied research in fields as diverse as medicine, engineering, nanotechnology and environmental science. The facilities at Diamond are being, or will be, used in a wide range of industrial applications including designing new materials, studying engineering components, understanding food processing and developing new drugs.

The Industrial Liaison Office is the first point of contact for industrial researchers who need to access the facilities of Diamond.  We operate two modes of access for industrial users – proprietary access and non-proprietary access.

Technical benefits include:

• considerably reduced measurement time in comparison with laboratory techniques;
• a range of sample environments which can be used to mimic operational conditions, for example at high temperature, pressure or specific chemical environments;
• very high spatial resolution;
• high energy X-rays that penetrate more deeply into materials compared to laboratory generated X-rays;
• the high intensity of the x-rays allows the study of industrial processes in real time.

Service benefits include:

• complete confidentiality for proprietary research;
• clarity on intellectual property (IP);
• high levels of automation;
• high throughput capabilities;
• dedicated staff to provide support from the point of application to publication of results;
• onsite preparation facilities and a purpose built research complex;
• onsite Guest House for users;
• flexible access procedures.

In addition, to support industrial users Diamond has established DISCo, an advisory committee that links Diamond Light Source to the Industrial Community.