Information for Users

Users who are interested in using I15's DACs and/or the gas-loading system for experiments, please contact I15 staff to discuss a potential collaboration. Please do this well before a proposal submission deadline to ensure staff have time to discuss and organise the proposed collaboration.

Before preparing your proposal, please check our Beamline Techniques (online and offline) and Beamline Equipment Availablity carefully. We highly recommend that you contact the beamline staff well before the proposal submission deadline, if you have any questions about the technical capabilities of I15 and the feasibility of your experimental setups.

The remote/hybrid access service on I15 is available for certain types of experiment.  Please contact beamline staff for further information. 

After being awarded I15 beamtime, please prepare and organise your trip via UAS system before the deadline. Detailed information is available here. If you have any further questions and enquiries related to travel and accommodation, please contact the User Office.

*If your beamtime requires intense night shifts and you would like to stay onsite, we recommend submitting the Investigators List (via UAS) as early as possible, as the Ridgeway House is generally very busy.

There are a number of factors to consider before arrival to ensure that you get the best out of your beamtime:

• Freely available analytic software packages: users who wish to use free analytic programmes on the I15 computers, please contact your local contact at least two weeks prior to your beamtime.

• Advanced data processing during the beamtime: if you wish to use DAWN for advanced and comprehensive data analysis (e.g. data mapping) during your experiment, please contact your local contact before the beamtime.

• Our support laboratory: covers a wide range of science and so we may not have the common chemicals, materials or equipment you might expect. It is best to double check your requirements with your local contact well in advance.

• If you are bringing your own sample environment or carrying out a non-standard experiment on I15, we require plenty of notice to ensure that all risks have been assessed, relevant equipment is prepared, and sufficient support is available from other DLS supporting groups (e.g. computing). Hence, once your beamtime has been approved, please liaise with your local contact well in advance of your beamtime (at least two months prior) to discuss arrangements and the possible offline commissioning and integration of equipment.

• Diamond technical staff will need at least one month notice of any modification or custom sample design, including mounting adapters. Please note that we can only help with simple machining. If this will be necessary, please discuss it with your local contact as soon as possible. 

Welcome to Beamline I15, we wish you to have a successful beamtime.

If you wish to use any offline equipment at I15, please speak to your local contact for induction and trainings.

Please note that food and drinks are only allowed in the control room, while sample preparation can only be conducted in labs. No samples are allowed to be left in the control room.

There are two manuals available:

For starting experiment sections: experiment startup

For GDA controls:GDA controls

Towards the end of your beamtime, people are often tired and distracted. Hopefully the following checklist will help you ensure that you take everything you will need away from Diamond and leave the beamline and labs in a safe and clean condition.

1. Have you removed all equipment and materials from the experiment hutch and Labs (the fume hood, fridge, freezer, vacuum oven, drying oven or glovebox)?
2. Have you cleared and cleaned your preparation area? (please make sure to turn off microscopes)
3. Are the labs safe and tidy for the next user group and beamline staff (any chemical or physical hazards)?
4. Have you packed up and tidied your personal belongings and rubbish in the control room?
5. Have you saved your data and collected your hard disc? Please make sure to sign out from your account on all computers.
6. Have you checked if you have all your detector calibration files and set up information (energy, detector distance etc.)?
7. Have you reported any faults or comments?

Your data are availble  here.

Please note that I15 does not provide data-analysis services.

• Claims Reimbursement

Team members who are eligible for support will receive an automatic email from the User Office after their beamtime has ended with a link to the online form.

Details of eligibility and what can be claimed can be found here

• Publications

Users publishing work containing synchrotron data from Diamond Light Source should ensure they acknowledge Diamond in all publications (including conference proceedings) arising from work carried out wholly or partially at Diamond.

The following acknowledgement statement must be included in all published reports:

“This work was carried out with the support of Diamond Light Source, instrument XXX (proposal XX12345)” 

More information is available here