D3 is a very versatile polarized neutron diffractometer,  working with hot neutrons.

Three main setups are used on D3, for studies in magnetism:

- high field setup, with vertical neutron polarisation, using a 10 Tesla magnet with a wide opening angle and the detector mounted on a lifting arm. One then makes full use of the relatively short wavelengths to explore large portions of the reciprocal space.

- low field setup, using an electromagnet for fields up to 0.6 Tesla

 - zero-field setup for spherical neutron polarimetry using CRYOPAD, with the polarisations of the incident and scattered beams monitored separately, in 3 dimensions.

A non-polarized option (Cu-monochromator) is also available, for experiments requiring both short wavelengths and high magnetic field (up to 10 Tesla)