The Laboratory was founded in 2003 by integration of the Laboratory of X-ray optics and electron microscopy (LXROEM) and the Laboratory of structure analysis (LSA)

The LSA was founded at the Institute of Solid State Physics AS USSR in 1964 as the X-ray diffraction analysis group. In 1976 the Scientific Council approved the status of the Laboratory. The laboratory staff has varied as the ISSP increases, the new technique was developed, and scientific subject-matter expanded.

The LXROEM was founded in 1981 based on the X-ray topographic group belonging to the Laboratory of real crystal structure.

At present the main technique at the ISSP related to the study of a structure and composition of materials and the appropriate setup for electron-microscopic and X-ray diffraction analysis of single-, polycrystalline and amorphous materials at low (down to helium), room, and high temperatures are concentrated in the LSR. By convention all the Laboratory activity can be divided into two parts: scientific and scientific-methodic one, when the Laboratory staffs carry out the structure investigations for other subdivisions of the Institute. Such the situation predestines the necessity of a great number of engineers and technicians that operate the equipment and perform the orders for other laboratories and also the subject variety of the investigations carried out in the Laboratory. A quick adaptation to the appearance of new classes of objects and the development of own approaches to analyze unusual structure states is the distinctive feature of the Laboratory as a scientific subdivision. Such the approach has been more pronounced when investigating aperiodic crystals and structures, metallic spin glasses and nano-crystalline alloys, organic conductors an so on.