Synchrotrons are particle accelerators that produce extremely high flux X-rays. The radiation produced from modern synchrotrons is nine orders of magnitude greater than the light produced from the sun. We use these bright sources to study the structure of weakly scattering materials like thin films of glassy and liquid crystalline organic semiconductors. 

Polarized optical microscopy is a technique that allows for visualization of anisotropic materials. We use polarized optical microscopy to create maps of molecular orientation in materials with liquid crystalline order. 

Dichroism is the selective absorption of light based on the polarization of the incident beam. Dichroism is observed in materials with anisotropic molecular orientation. We use dichroism to quantify molecular organization in soft and organic materials. We study dichroism across the energy spectrum of light from the X-Ray regime to the infrared.   X-ray dichroism can be used to measure structure at surfaces while infrared and optical dichroism is sensitive to bulk structure.