Experimental facilities

Research with us

Brought together within the University’s Sir William Henry Bragg Building, our facilities are available to students, researchers and internal and external academics for training, consultation and collaborative projects. We also undertake projects with businesses.

Access our characterisation and fabrication facilities to:

Understand a material’s properties and structure to enhance its application for commercial and research goals.
Develop new materials for a range of applications, including medical, electronic, and environmental.
Work with our team of experimental specialists, including our dedicated Royce Application Scientist.

Many of our facilities are provided through the Henry Royce Institute and are eligible for national equipment access schemes.

Characterisation facilities

Our characterisation facilities support you to analyse a material's chemical structure, composition and properties.

Leeds Electron Microscopy and Spectroscopy Facility

Examine the morphology, structure and chemical composition of hard and soft materials, from atomic to microstructural length scales.
X-ray Diffraction Facility

Confirm and quantify the chemical phases present within a crystalline material sample.
Versatile X-ray Spectroscopy Facility

Probe a material’s elemental composition and surface chemistry.
SAXS@Bragg

Characterise powders, gels, pastes and liquids to reveal details of their nanostructure, such as size, shape and orientation.
Atomic Force Microscopy Facility

Characterise material surfaces, from biological samples, polymer systems and pharmaceutical ingredients to metallic coatings, magnetic materials and fabricated devices.
X-ray Computed Tomography Facility

Measure microscale properties in 3D to reveal spatial distribution, volume, orientation, shape, and size distribution.

Fabrication facilities

Our fabrication facilities support you to deposit, grow and coat materials, devices or chemical products.

Leeds Nanotechnology Cleanroom

Carry out nano- and micro-fabrication activities in a controlled environment to deliver a wide range of research and innovation projects, including the development of semiconductor materials and quantum technologies.
Royce Deposition System

Grow thin film and multi-layer composites in one ultra-high vacuum system.
Advanced Coatings System and Environmental Tribology Suite Facility

Develop advanced functional surfaces for fundamental for component-sized samples with complex morphologies.