About Us

Crystal Scientific was established in February 1995 by Dr Simon Cockerton to manufacture synchrotron diffraction optics. Since that time it has developed strong customer relationships at most the of the major synchrotrons worldwide and has also built up links with the commercial beamline integrators.

Since starting business in 1995, Crystal Scientific has supplied diffraction crystals to most of the world's synchrotrons. We have always been at the leading edge of diffraction optics, working with development scientists and engineers to realise crystals, for example, for cryogenic cooling and sagittal focusing.

Since April 2008 we have been located in purpose built manufacturing premises close to the Northumberland national park. Our rural location minimises vibration which is a key requirement for the high precision work that we undertake.

Manufacturing Expertise

Crystal Scientific's manufacturing process is distinguished by its comprehensive in-house capabilities:

1. Raw Materials Selection: Careful sourcing of materials to meet stringent quality standards.
2. Crystal Orientation: Precise alignment to achieve desired diffraction properties.
3. Machining, Lapping, and Polishing: Advanced techniques to fabricate optics with exceptional surface quality and dimensional accuracy.
4. Metrology: Utilising X-ray diffraction, contact profiles, surface roughness, surface flatness measurements to ensure precision.
5. Coating Services: Offering differential coating options to enhance optical performance.

Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing

We are proud to produce all of our products (from silicon ingot to finished commodity) in a purpose built, environmentally friendly, factory based in the UK. The factory's energy usage is fully satisfied by a combination of solar panels and a highly efficient biomass boiler.

These are situated in our Austrian eco cabin on the South side of the factory to acquire most solar energy. The controls in the cabin ensure that a constant temperature is maintained by running the biomass boiler when the solar energy is not sufficient.

In 2023 we made further improvements to ensure full environmentally friendly status, by installing solar panels directly onto the roof of the factory, now covering over 50% of the total surface area.

In addition, we encourage all of our employees to commute to work by cycling when possible and we run a number of fully electric vehicles as company cars.

Image of Crystal Scientific Factory

Geographical Location of Crystal Scientific