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. Instructions for filling out the Research Proposal Form are presented below

• Is this a continuation of a previous proposal?
  If affirmative, please provide the number of the previous proposal and indicate what changes were made. Otherwise, go to the next step.
• Scientific Background
  Give the general and specific scientific background. State clearly the aim of the proposed experiment together with the motivation for the present proposal.
• Expected results
  Describe the expected results, their scientific or technical relevance, and how they relate to existing work on the topic.
• Previous Characterization
  Give results of preliminary work carried out with synchrotron radiation and/or any other method. If you do not have any previous characterization, justify it.
• Experimental Method
  This section must detail the type of measurements to be performed, the synchrotron technique to be used, including the required experimental setup and sample environment. If any specific instrumentation is going to be used, it also must be described in this section. Queries concerning the feasibility (technical or safety aspects) of an experiment should be clarified with LNLS staff before the proposal is submitted. In particular, the sample environment conditions must be described (e.g. temperature range, vacuum pressure, magnetic field or any other important parameter of the experiment) as well as the number of samples and standards to be measured. Safety concerns about the samples are given independently in the Sample and Safety form.
• Experimental Condition
  Experimental conditions for the execution of the proposal.
• Allocated time requested
  Based on the number of samples and on the strategy of the experiment, justify the amount of time needed.
• References
  Your proposal must be self-contained with a few relevant references, in other words, keep the number of references to a minimum but do indicate appropriate literature. Three to five references should be enough, 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.