SNBL, a dedicated beamline for combined in situ X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption and Raman scattering experiments

X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and Raman scattering are commonly used for studies of crystal and electronic structure of materials. All three techniques have their strong points and limitations but by combining them into one experimental set-up it is possible to exploit their complementarities. The biggest advantage of such a multi-technique approach lies in the observation of dynamic processes. This is where (quasi-)simultaneous data acquisition with different techniques ensures a perfect correlation between these measurements. As a result, one obtains information about the materials structure, which goes beyond the sum obtained by individual experimental methods. The success of the multiple technique approach depends strongly on the rigorous optimisation of all related experimental details. In this article, we describe some of these crucial methodological solutions implemented at Swiss-Norwegian beamline.