How to apply

Scientists can apply for beamtime whenever calls for proposals are issued. ePSIC calls take place four times a year with deadlines in March, June, September and December.  The User Office will announce a call by sending emails to all registered users. Calls are normally opened six weeks prior to the deadline.

Applications for Standard Access are made online via the User Administration System(UAS).

• Proposals are reviewed initially by the facility staff for technical feasibility. The Peer Review Panel then make recommendation based on scientific merit.
• Decisions from the review panels are passed to the Diamond management team for final approval. Decisions are announced by email approximately 4 weeks after each Panel meeting.
• Once the decision has been made, the facility leader is responsible for scheduling the beamtime. Scheduling is normally complete within 4 weeks.

*** Due to ongoing upgrades to the instrument we are not currently accepting rapid access applications to E01 ***

Rapid access proposals allow for short experiments that cannot wait until the next allocation period. Rapid access proposals may be submitted at any time and will be processed as quickly as possible. One of the following criteria must be met to be granted time via rapid access:

• The proposal is a short feasibility study, the results of which will inform whether an application is submitted via the standard route for the next allocation period.
• The proposed experiment is necessary to complete a paper that would be ready for submission upon successful completion of the experiment.
• The proposed experiment will contribute towards a PhD thesis that will be completed before the end of the next allocation period and therefore could not wait for the standard access route.

Applications for Rapid Access are made online via the User Administration System(UAS).

• Proposals are reviewed initially by the facility leader for technical feasibility. The proposal is then sent to the facility director to judge whether it meets the criteria for rapid access..
• Once the decision has been made, the facility leader is responsible for scheduling the beamtime. Scheduling will be processed as quickly as possible for rapid access proposals.

The microscopes are available for proprietary use, or for users requiring guaranteed access (i.e. use funded through a specific grant). For more information on this access mode, please contact Chris Allen and the Industrial Liaison Office.