  We study in detail a peculiar configuration of the Talbot-Lau matter wave
interferometer, characterised by unequal distances between the two diffraction
gratings and the observation plane. We refer to this apparatus as the
"asymmetric Talbot-Lau setup". Particular attention is given to its
capabilities as an inertial sensor for particle and atomic beams, also in
comparison with the classical moir\'e deflectometer. The present analysis is
motivated by possible experimental applications in the context of antimatter
wave interferometry, including the measurement of the gravitational
acceleration of antimatter particles. To support our findings, we have
performed numerical simulations of realistic particle beams with varying speed
distributions.
