Apply for Beamtime

For detailed user information please refer to PSI User Office.

• Users interested in performing experiments at SIM are encouraged to contact the beamline scientists prior to proposal submission.
• Proposals have to be submitted electronically using the SLS Digital Users Office (DUO).
• The scheduling periods and deadlines for calls for proposals can be found at SLS Proposal Calls.

The SIM beamline is overbooked. Shortly after the submission deadlines, the proposals are reviewed confidentially by an independent committee (Proposal Review Committee, PRC). After review, notification of success or failure is automatically sent to the main proposer by the DUO system. In addition, users will be contacted by the beamline scientists to request your input on the beamtime scheduling. Every effort is made to accommodate the wishes of the users regarding the convenience of the allocated shift dates.

Long-term proposals extend over three scheduling periods. Justification for submitting a long-term proposal should be compelling. In general, proposals for experiments that are considered to be "high-risk" are unlikely to obtain long-term status until their feasibility has been proven. Even then, it should be apparent to the PRC, such as through publications in high-profile journals, that long-term status is justified.

It is recommended that prospective users contact their assigned local contact Staff to obtain information required for preparing their experiment. Users can check on Endstations in preparation to the beamtime.

It is important to check the following aspects:

• Why synchrotron x-rays?
• Which soft x-ray techniques/methods are needed?
• Which spatial resolution is required?
• Sample preparation:
  • Ex-situ samples?
  • In-situ samples? What evaporation sources are desired? Are the evaporation sources available at the beamline preparation chambers or does the user prefer to install her/his own evaporation sources?
  • Size?
  • Sample conductive or insulating?
  • PEEM: sample flatness?
• Temperature range.
• Magnetic fields?
• Electric excitation?
• Special requirements such as extra equipment, chemicals, safety aspects etc.

Setting up an experiment is, in general, performed as part of the allocated beamtime. Under favourable circumstances, it may be possible to install in advance the necessary complementary set-up (e.g. evaporation sources). This depends on whether the station/preparation chambers are being used by another user immediately prior to the beamtime. Check with the local contact of your experiment.

You can access the current SIM schedule in the SLS Operation Calendar.

User support is available from 07.00 until 23.00 during the week, at the numbers given in Contacts. At the weekend, the user support is organized via the local contact.

Transnational access to instrumentation of PSI and, if required, to a limited amount of x-ray beamtime at the SLS can also be requested via a research proposal that can be submitted via the European Union research project Nanosience Foundries and Fine Analysis (NFFA): http://www.nffa.eu.