The PXRD2D and the tomography instruments are now in normal user operation. In parallel we are designing the HERDi (high resolution PXRD) instrument.
DanMAX is primarily funded through Danish sources, however, the beamline is accessible through the MAX IV general user program.
DanMAX User Group
Join the DanMAX User (Google) Group to join the discussions about e.g. data treatment, beamline developments, experimental ideas etc.:
Upcoming calls
DanMAX is a hard X-ray materials science beamline on the 3GeV ring at MAX IV. The photon energy available at DanMAX is 15-35 keV. In the upcoming call, we accept regular proposals seeking time on the PXRD2D instrument or on the imaging instrument. In the fall of 2025 we will also offer fast access to the imaging instrument for new users – see more details below. You can read more about the PXRD2D instrument here and the imaging instrument here.
Proposals must be submitted via the MAX IV DUO system; however, we encourage interested users to contact the beamline staff (well before the deadline!) to discuss their experiments before submission. We also encourage users to have a look at our proposal tips page with specific things to consider when preparing a propsal for DanMAX. When submitting proposals in DUO, please choose ‘Material Science with hard X-rays’ as a research area in order to select DanMAX.
To help you design your PXRD2D experiment, we have developed xrdPlanner. Here, you can compare the experimental parameters (sample-to-detector distance, photon energy, beam stop distance) to find the best setup for your experiment. We have described the program in a paper (https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600577523011086). A full description and documentation are available on GitHub, and the program can be installed using PyPi: pip install xrdPlanner
Fast access for new users: Tomographic Imaging
In the fall of 2025, DanMAX will offer fast access to the tomographic imaging (µCT) instrument. This special access mode is intended to help new users take advantage of the possibilities for tomographic imaging at DanMAX.
Eligibility requirements:
- Only users who have never performed a tomographic imaging experiment at MAX IV are eligible for this access mode
- The user must have discussed the scientific case and samples before submitting a proposal
- Users can measure up to 5 similar samples
What we offer:
- We offer support in selecting the best experimental parameters for the particular samples
- We offer reconstruction of the projections to volumetric data ready for analysis
We don’t offer:
- Segmentation and further analysis, however, QIM offers support for analysis of the volumetric data
- This access mode is only for tomographic imaging, powder diffraction and scattering are not accessible via fast access
Please contact the beamline staff if you want to try out Tomographic imaging at DanMAX!
Acknowledging the use of DanMAX
When publishing any material arising from work carried out at MAX IV, you must acknowledge MAX IV and our funders. This obligation applies to both infrastructure personnel and researchers using the infrastructure.
The following acknowledgement statement is to be used in all cases:
“We acknowledge the MAX IV Laboratory for beamtime on the DanMAX beamline under proposal [insert proposal ID here]. Research conducted at MAX IV, a Swedish national user facility, is supported by Vetenskapsrådet (Swedish Research Council, VR) under contract 2018-07152, Vinnova (Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems) under contract 2018-04969 and Formas under contract 2019-02496. DanMAX is funded by the NUFI grant no. 4059-00009B”
The XRF detector is on loan from the Birkedal group at Aarhus University, Denmark. Please include the following acknowledgement if publishing data obtained using the XRF detector: “The XRF detector was made available by Aarhus University through grant CF18-0802 from the Carlsberg Foundation.”
DanMAX logo 
You are welcome to use our logo for posters and presentations, including data from DanMAX. You can download high-quality versions in black or in white.
Data access and processing
Details about data access at MAX IV and the file structure used at DanMAX can be found under DanMAX data.
Sample preparations and labs
It is possible to do simple manipulation of benign samples (e.g. packing capillaries) at the beamline. If the samples pose any risk, manipulation will have to be performed in a proper chemistry lab. The recommended lab, also the one closest to DanMAX, is the ‘Mini chemical lab’. To book the usage of any chemical lab, please use the following link below and book the lab at least 2 weeks in advance.
To get access to the chemical labs, a face-to-face introduction is required upon arrival. Our lab manager will contact you once the booking is completed and arrange a suitable time for the introduction. The access is valid for one year.
For general information about the biological, chemical and microscopy support labs, please refer to our lab page.
If you want to book a lab directly, you can enter your MAX IV login on our booking site here. Please note that this site requires a MAX IV VPN connection.
Safety
A risk assessment is always required for any booking of any new experiment. All relevant information can be found on our Safety page.
Sending equipment and samples to DanMAX
Equipment and samples can be shipped to DanMAX using the following address:
MAX IV Laboratory
Att.: [NAME OF LOCAL CONTACT] / DanMAX [PROPOSAL NO]
Fotongatan 8
224 84 Lund
Sweden
Please let the local contact of your experiment know before shipping equipment and/or samples to MAX IV, and make sure the boxes are correctly marked if they contain e.g. dangerous substances or delicate equipment.