CALENDAR - X-Ray Diffraction Courses in ACC Almelo

X-Ray Diffraction Course Part-1: Powder diffraction (14-18th September 2026)

The 5-day course will be held in the Application Competence Center of Malvern Panalytical (Almelo, The Netherlands), and it will cover the fundamental and practical aspects of X-Ray Powder Diffraction, with emphasis on hands-on on the Empyrean instrument, in conjunction with Data Collector software and HighScore Plus suite. 

This course can be followed-up by registering to the 5-day X-Ray Diffraction Course Part-2: Beyond powders - Analysis of bulk, thin films and nanoparticle samples, which covers advanced methods such as Residual Stress, Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction (GI-XRD), X-Ray Reflectivity (XRR) and Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS). 

More detailed and advanced training on phase quantification and crystallographic analysis is available in the 3-day Rietveld Refinement Course.

Who should attend? 

New or existing users of Malvern Panalytical X-Ray diffractometers who have basic knowledge of theory and practice of powder diffraction. 

What will you learn? 

1. help you to master the use of your instrument for powder diffraction;
2. get the best results out of your instrument in terms of highest data quality;
3. effective and reliable data analysis of powder diffraction data, in terms of phase identification and quantification of simple mixtures.

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X-Ray Diffraction Course Part-2: Beyond powders - Analysis of bulk, thin films and nanoparticle samples (21-25th September 2026)

The 5-day course will be held in the Application Competence Center of Malvern Panalytical (Almelo, The Netherlands), and it will cover the fundamental and practical aspects of Residual Stress, Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction (GI-XRD), X-Ray Reflectivity (XRR) and Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS). Emphasis will be on hands-on experience with the Empyrean instrument, in conjunction with Data Collector and the relevant analytical software packages. Participants are encouraged to bring their characteristic scans, or one or two of their relevant samples (together with the corresponding sample submission forms and safety data sheets – ask for this option during the registration process).

This course is intended to be a follow-up of the 5-day X-Ray Diffraction Course Part-1: Powder diffraction. 

Who should attend? 

1. existing users of Malvern Panalytical X-Ray diffractometers who already followed the 5-day X-Ray Diffraction Course Part-1: Powder diffraction;
2. new users who have already knowledge of Malvern Panalytical X-Ray diffractometers and solid basis on the theory of these techniques.

What will you learn? 

1. help you to master the use of your instrument, when performing measurements of Residual Stress on bulk materials, GI-XRD and XRR on thin films, and SAXS on nanomaterials;
2. get the best results out of your instrument in terms of highest data quality; 
3. effective and reliable data analysis.

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Rietveld Refinement Course (5-7th October 2026)

The 3-day course will be held in the Application Competence Center of Malvern Panalytical (Almelo, The Netherlands), and it will provide the participants with a solid base for practicing the Rietveld method using the HighScore Plus software package. Focus of the course is on practical training, starting from phase identification and introduction into the Rietveld method and the working principles, the influence of important parameters, refinement strategies, quantification of mixtures, the quantification of amorphous material and the basics of the creation of automatic routines like batches or RoboRiet files for automatic quantification. Participants can bring their own files for the hands-on software sessions and further discussions. 

For the new users of Malvern Panalytical XRD instruments we recommend first to follow the 5-day X-Ray Diffraction Course Part-1: Powder diffraction. 

Who should attend? 

1. existing users of Malvern Panalytical X-Ray diffractometers who already followed the 5-day X-Ray Diffraction Course Part-1: Powder diffraction;

2. new users of Malvern Panalytical X-Ray diffractometers, with at least a basic knowledge on crystallography and X-Ray diffraction.

What will you learn? 

1. provide the participants with a solid base for understanding and using the Rietveld method; 
2. allow the participants to perform effective and reliable data analysis.