STANDARD RESEARCH PROPOSAL (STD)

This is the standard procedure to get access to the LNLS beamlines and support labs. The users ask for beamtime for a specific experiment on a given beamline. The proposals follow the normal review process and the beamtime may be split into more than one round. After each experimental round, the Users’ team provides an experimental report and other feedback.

Published results must acknowledge the beamline/facility, National Laboratory and CNPEM. A copy of each paper or thesis should be transmitted to LNLS management and a copy of each paper or thesis should be transmitted to LNLS management and CNPEM’s library.

Users from Brazil and Latin America receive grants to perform the experiments.

FAST TRACK ACCESS (FTA)

This type of proposals intends to improve the access to LNLS beamlines for experiments that demand little preparation and involve simple sample and safety concerns on standard beamline setups. It is intended for users that have already experience on the required technique. The team – or main proposer – must have already submitted and get approved proposals at the LNLS beamlines. It can be used to complete and/or complement experimental results to conclude scientific publications and/or thesis works.

Specific Rules:

• Submissions at any time.
• Proposals reviewed individually within 2 – 3 weeks after submission.
• Members of the Proposal Review Committee may be called as ad-hoc referees for a quick review.
• Beamtime allocated within 3 – 10 weeks after submission (depending on availability).
• After each experimental round, the user group provides an experimental report.
• Published results must acknowledge the beamline/facility, National Laboratory and CNPEM. A copy of each paper or thesis should be transmitted to LNLS management and CNPEM’s library.
• Financial support is not provided.

The LNLS management will decide the amount of beamtime allocated to FTA for each beamline:

• Beamtime allocated for FTA may be different for each beamline.
• Not all beamlines will receive FTA proposals.
• Experiments can be done remotely by sending samples and using an Online Service (not available in all beamlines).

LONG TERM PROPOSAL (LTP)

This submission type aims at establishing a long-term commitment by LNLS to provide beamtime in one or more beamlines for a two-year period. The main criterion is the scientific excellence of the project. However, some additional criteria must be considered:

• Commitment of the proposer group regarding a contribution in terms of financial, technical and/or human resources.
• An identifiable benefit to the LNLS scientific and user programs and to the beamline(s) involved regarding a new technique, new instrumentation, and new possibilities of experiments for the beamline.
• Involvement of other CNPEM open facilities (LNNano, LNBio, LNBR), as much as possible. Such involvement could be, for instance, in sample preparation and/or characterization, as well as in the use of complementary analytical methods.

Specific Rules:

• Call for proposals on a yearly basis.
• Only one or two proposals at a time for each beamline.
• Ad-hoc committee formed by the LNLS’ Scientific Board, including members selected from Proposal Review Committee.
• Committee may ask for external ad-hoc referees.
• Report on a yearly basis.
• Funding to be discussed and a contract to be formalized.

INDUSTRY RAPID ACCESS (IRA)

Like the FTA application, IRA is designed to improve the access to LNLS beamlines for experiments that demand little preparation and involve simple sample and safety concerns on standard beamline setups. Industrial users must have already some experiences on the required technique. Funding is not provided, and costs should be discussed depending on the need for assistance of a LNLS specialist during the experiments and on data handling.

Specific rules:

• Submissions at any time.
• Proposals reviewed individually within 2 – 3 weeks after submission.
• Beamtime allocated within 5 – 10 weeks after submission (depending on availability).

LNLS management will decide the amount of beamtime allocated to IRA for each beamline:

• Beamtime allocated for IRA may be different for each beamline.
• Not all beamlines will receive IRA proposals.
• Experiments can be done remotely by sending samples and using an Online Service (not available in all beamlines).

RESEARCH PROPOSAL FORM

The Research Proposal Form is the main document describing the proposal, its objectives, and experiments. Below are instructions for completing the Research Proposal Form.

• Is this a continuation of a previous proposal?
  For proposals submitted under the continuous flow modality, indicate whether the research is a continuation of a previous proposal. If so, provide the number of the previous proposal and specify how the current proposal differs from the previous one. If not, proceed to the next section. Attention: Under no circumstances should you provide the proposal number when submitting a standard proposal under the double-anonymous evaluation format.
• Scientific Motivation
  Provide both general and specific scientific motivations. Clearly state the objective of the proposed experiment along with the motivation for the current proposal.
• Expected Results
  Describe the expected results, their technical or scientific relevance, and how they relate to existing work.
• Preliminary Sample Characterization
  Provide results from preliminary work conducted using synchrotron radiation or other methods. If no prior characterization exists, justify it.
• Experimental Method
  This section must include details about: the type of measurement to be performed, the synchrotron light technique to be used, the experimental configuration, sample conditioning and testing parameters (temperature range, vacuum pressure, magnetic field, or any other important experiment parameter), and the number of samples to be analyzed. If any specific instrumentation is required, this information must be included in this section. Questions regarding the technical feasibility of the proposal or sample safety must be resolved with the LNLS team before proposal submission. Sample safety concerns are addressed separately in the sample and safety form.
• Experimental Conditions
  Provide the experimental conditions necessary for carrying out the proposal in this section.
• Requested Beamtime Allocation
  Based on the number of samples and the experiment strategy, justify the requested beamtime allocation.
• Justification for the Use of Synchrotron Techniques
  Explain in this section why the use of synchrotron light is essential to solve the scientific problem of interest. What advantage does the proposed experiment offer compared to alternative methods?
• References
  Your proposal should include a few relevant references; keep the number of references to a minimum while ensuring the appropriate literature is cited. Three to five references should be sufficient, including previous works on the same system.

SAMPLE AND SAFETY FORM

The Sample and Safety Form is the document describing your samples and safety concerns. Filled out online in the SAU online portal.

• Give details about chemical formulas, sample presentation, MSDS files etc.;
• Describe all samples, including standard reference samples;
• Describe explicitly any danger concern associated to the sample;
• Indicate all sample preparation needs;
• In case of questions, contact the beamline coordinator or safety manager.