Users can access beamtime through one of four mechanisms which are described here:

• Peer-Reviewed Access (a.k.a. the General User Program). There is a call for proposals twice a year, and the deadline dates are listed here.
• Purchased Access
• Rapid Access
• Beamteam Access

Before you begin, determine if BXDS meets the technical requirements for your experiments. The first step is to read the information posted on this website, specifically, the pages for the WLE, WHE and IVU beamlines.

Some things to consider include:

1. What type of measurements are you interested in? Our list is available on the BXDS homepage. The type of measurement can determine which of the 3 BXDS beamlines would be used.
2. Are the photon energies we offer compatible with your measurement? For example, if the sample is a piece of steel several millimeters thick, this measurement may only be possible at the WHE beamline.
3. Can you prepare your sample for the type of measurement? For example, high-resolution powder diffraction at the WLE beamline requires a specific format.
4. Do you require non-ambient conditions for the measurement? We have some options, and we are very open to adding in new devices provided by users.

After reviewing the information here on our webpage, users are encouraged to discuss their proposal with beamline staff before submission to determine if the experiment is technically feasible.

Proposals to do experiments at BXDS are entered in the User Portal. Please read this helpful guide to navigating the user portal. You can also watch Writing Your Best Proposal for Beamtime at the CLS for further guidance.

After the submission deadline, the following steps occur,

• Proposals are scored on technical feasibility by beamline staff.
• Peer-review occurs by external experts. Proposals receive a score between 1.0 (outstanding) to 5.0.
• Peer-review committee meets, discusses the scores, especially the outliers.
• CLS management set the schedule for the coming cycle, including the total number of shifts where beam is available. To view the cycle schedule, click here.
• Beamline staff decide what percentage of the total number of available shifts to allocate to different access groups (beamteam, industry, general users, staff access, commissioning and maintenance).
• A cutoff proposal score is set for each beamline.
• Beamline staff allocate time to the proposals, which is then reviewed by the Allocation Committee.
• Allocation notices sent out to users.
• Prepare for beamtime!

Keep in mind that successful general user program projects are active for 4 cycles (this is typically 2 years). This means you do not have to submit a new proposal each cycle once you have an active project. In the next cycle you can simply submit a beamtime request to request shifts. Active projects submitting a beamtime request are not re-evaluated and will retain the initial peer review score received. Allocation of shifts is based on the highest ranked proposals (both new and active). Please see this guide on how to submit a beamtime request for detailed instructions.

Review the following information while preparing for your beamtime to ensure smooth data collection:

• Update your project & team - CLS User Portal
  • Ensure everyone planning to control the beamline is registered as a CLS user, included on the team, accepts the user agreement & completes required training.
    • Note on accounts: each individual user, once registered, has an individual CLS User Portal account which is also used in the CLS Training Site. The spokesperson (or delegate) is responsible for updating the project & list of team members on the project.
• Check that your training is up to date - CLS Training Site
  • On-Site Visit: complete WHMIS, HSO & RAM modules online in the CLS Training Site. On-Site BSOs are additionally completed with staff at the beginning of beamtime when needed, and expire after two years.
  • If you are a new user, you need to pick up your access badge from the CLS Reception Desk in the Main Lobby (Monday to Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, excluding holidays). You will need to present government-issued photo ID and may need to have your Proposal Number before a user badge can be issued.
• Prepare samples for shipment
  • Please review the shipping instructions.
  • Any samples, materials, and equipment that you plan on bringing must be listed on the project. These all must be approved before arriving at CLS.

Please connect with beamline staff before your beamtime to discuss your plan and confirm its feasibility.

Beamline staff will be present to help you start your session, give beamline specific orientation (BSO) training required, and guide you through beamline operations. Printed user guides are available at the beamline and some are also accessible on this webpage.

Don't wait until your beamtime is over to start looking at your data. If there's a problem with your data, you want to find it while you're still at the beamline so you can address it.

We hope you found your time at BXDS productive and pleasant. If you enjoyed your visit, tell your colleagues, and if there is something we can do to improve your experience next time, let us know. We would appreciate it if you took the time to fill out the feedback survey in the User Portal!

Please take your samples back with you after your beamtime.

Transferring Large Datasets

We encourage users to bring a portable hard drive with them to take their data home. Otherwise, the CLS uses Globus to transfer large data sets to users. To access the data, you will need to create an account with globus.org, and then share that account name with the beamline scientist. Then we can upload the data and change the permissions of the data folder so that you can access it through your account.

https://docs.globus.org/how-to/get-started/
We highly recommend installing the Globus Connect Personal program,
https://www.globus.org/globus-connect-personal
This will allow you to download many files at once, rather than one file at a time.

Publishing Data 

• All publications which include data collected at CLS must include this standard standard CLS funding statement.
• Beamline staff who assist in an experiment should be acknowledged in some way in any publication. For routine assistance, staff can be mentioned in the acknowledgements section. Routine examples are, setting up the beamline, training users in the data collection, and initial guidance on the data analysis. Or running one mail-in proposal for a user group. We expect staff memebers to be included as co-authors for non-routine assistance. Examples include working up, analysing and interpreting your data beyond an the typical introductory demonstration when users visit the beamline. Designing or helping to implement a special setup or sample environment that is specific to a user group. Running multiple mail-in proposals for a user group.
• We encourage users to cite the most current paper describing the Brockhouse sector beamlines in the experimental section: A.F.G. Leontowich et al., J. Synchrotron Rad. 28 (2021) 961-969.
• Users are strongly encouraged to enter all publications (peer reviewed papers, theses, etc) in the CLS publication database.