Mail-In Program


We provide mail-in access for the following measurements,

  • High Resolution Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD)
  • Pair Distribution Function (PDF)
  • Wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS)
  • Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) 

Industrial Mail-In Program:

The Industrial Science Group (ISG) at the CLS offers an option for mail-in data collection with a fast turn around time and no need to have a proposal go through the peer review process. Samples can be loaded either by the customer or by CLS staff. As this is a paid service, industrial clients have no obligation to publish the results. Many academic users also find this service useful due to its fast turn around time and avoidance of a proposal. Data is usually collected within a few days to a few weeks of receiving the samples, except during periods of extended maintenance. Data is generally only collected in standard configurations at set energies. Please contact Joel Reid at Joel.Reid@lightsource.ca for pricing. We are also happy to do more complex experiments or analyze the data for you. See the ISG website for more details.

Academic Mail-In Program:

Academic users can submit a rapid access proposal through the user portal for fast turn-around mail-in. Users must write the short proposal that should justify why is synchrotron-quality data required. They should also justify why is rapid access is required, rather than using the general user proposal method. Projects that can be completed using laboratory quality data are not suitable for this program. Users may not use this program more than once per run cycle and no more than two proposals from the same research group are accepted in a run cycle. Projects involving more samples than listed for the technique, or ones that require more complex setups should be submitted as general user proposals.

For PXRD, choose the BXDS-WLE beamline. PXRD proposals are limited to 95 ambient condition measurements. Data can also be collected at any temperature between 80 and 500 K for up to 8 samples or temperature points. Users should load capillaries into Kapton capillaries themselves prior to shipping, see the user information page of this website for instruction on how to purchase and preapre the capillaries. Inquiries regarding this program can be directed to Adam Leontowich.

Note that cmopounds containing significant amounts of Ga, Ge, As, Se, or Br may not work well as they have K-edges just below the beamline wavelength. Samples with Pb and Bi also tend not to work well as the L-edges are just below the wavelength. Samples with high concnetartions of lanthanides or third row transmission elements may have high absorptions. Powder diffraction on such samples can also be done on the WHE beamline, although the resolurion will not be as high. Feel free to contact a beamline scientist to help decide where it is best to run the samples.

For PDF, choose the BXDS-WHE beamline. PDF prposals are limited of 19 samples. Measurements will be done only at ambient conditions, using 60 or 65 keV X-rays. Users should load capillaries into Kapton capillaries themselves prior to shipping, see the user information page of this website for instruction on how to purchase and preapre the capillaries. Inquiries regarding this program can be directed to Graham King.

For SAXS/WAXS, choose the BXDS-WLE beamline. SAXS/WAXS proposals are limited to 10 samples. Measurements will be done only at ambient conditions, using 10.5 or 15.1 keV X-rays. Inquiries regarding this program can be directed to Adam Leontowich.

Please do not wait until the very last minute to ship your samples.