Prof. Ade developed a number of novel instruments and characterization methods, which include Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) microscopy, X-ray linear dichroism microscopy, X-ray photoemission microscopy, resonant x-ray reflectivity and resonant soft x-ray scattering (R-SoXS). Their applications focus primarily on determining the composition, morphology and structure of polymeric and organic electronic materials at the sub-micron spatial scale. R-SoXS has become a method de rigueur for the characterization of organic photovoltaic devices, as it affords high scattering contrast, sensitivity to molecular orientation, and a q-range that matches important lengths-scale of the device morphology. Instrumentation advanced in x-ray microscopy have lead to a commercial instrument by Accel (now Bruker).