XMaS is an EPSRC funded National Research Facility supporting the UK materials science communities. It provides free at the point of access to synchrotron radiation at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble. A wide range of sample environments allow a diverse set of experiments to be performed using energies in the 2.4 to 35 keV range. Additional facilities exploiting these sample environments are possible using our laboratory spaces which include a new micro-source x-ray facility see the XMaS website for more details.
The next proposal deadline for CRG beam time on XMaS is 1 October 2021. This proposal call is for the scheduling period running from early March until the end of July 2022.
The beamline provides 2/3rd of available synchrotron beam time to UK based researchers (national research facility or CRG time) with the remaining 1/3rd to the wider ESRF’s user community (ESRF time).
At this stage, we assume that experiments will run under normal conditions (i.e. full user team on site). However, please mention whether the proposal could be run in remote or mail-in, should the pandemic situation degrade again through the autumn-winter period.
Can I apply?
Access to the national research time (i.e. CRG time) is only for UK based researchers. Collaborations with EU and international colleagues are encouraged, but the proposal must be led by a UK based principal investigator and it must be made clear how the collaborative research supports the UK science base. Applications without a robust link to the UK will be rejected and should instead be submitted directly to the ESRF using their public access route (i.e. ESRF time with deadlines 1st March and 16th Sept). The Principal Investigator (PI) should also be a permanent member of staff or a Postdoc. Students cannot be a PI, only a co-proposer.
How can I apply?
Your proposal must be submitted electronically via the ESRF website: www.esrf.eu
Select ‘Users & Science’, then ‘Applying for beamtime’ from the drop-down list.
On the right hand side, you can consult the instructions to submit your proposal and access the ‘User Portal’. Enter your surname and password and select ‘Proposals/Experiments’. Follow the instructions carefully — you must choose ‘CRG Proposal’ and ‘BM28 (XMaS – Mat.Sci.)’ at the appropriate stage in the process.
If you need advice on submitting an application, please contact Laurence Bouchenoire
