Welcome! And thanks for deciding to submit a proposal for the Mid-IR beamline. On this page you'll find some tips on how to prepare a proposal for beamtime at the CLS. Please contact beamline staff if you are planning on submitting a proposal and we can help!

A successful proposal will be novel research and the aim of the project will be clearly identified. Explain the importance of the project and the reason why measurements at the CLS are required.

Please visit the About page for details on the Mid-IR endstations:

• The Bruker endstation is optimized for high-brightness, diffraction-limited spectromicroscopy with synchrotron infrared radiation.
• The Agilent endstation is optimized for high spatial resolution, large field of view chemical infrared imaging.
• The IRsweep endstation is optimized for high signal-to-noise, time-resolved spectroscopy measurements with microsecond time resolution.

Step 1: Check to see when the next call for proposals starts. The next call is from July 24 - August 21 2024!

Step 2: Create a user account. Complete the registration form by clicking New user? on the log in page of the User Portal

Step 3: Create a new proposal. Click the + Create a Proposal button. Select General User Access

Step 4: The proposal

Step 5: Submission and results. Next call results will be announced the week of November 4 2024. Results will be used for scheduling beamtime in Cycle 40 (January to June, 2025). See the current schedule.

For a short tutorial visit How to Submit a Proposal

Below is an outline of the type of material to prepare for your proposal. The proposal is entirely created in the User Portal. It is recommended to draft the proposal in a word processing document and then enter into the user portal system.

The proposal has a few main sections

1. Description

• Abstract (200 words)
• Research Area and Keywords
• Scientific Description (800 words max): this part is really important, here you want to state the scientific problem, the current status of the research problem, and how this project at CLS will address the problem. Include specifics about what you plan on studying at the beamline, including something information about your sample
• Societal, Economic and industrial Relevance (200 words max)

2. Research Team

• Who is on the team, experience and publications related to the project proposal. (1000 words max plus one additional attachment)

3. Beamlines - In this section you outline your specific requirements at the CLS. Please talk to beamline staff as you prepare this section!

• Facility requirements
• Experimental procedure – how will you prepare your samples, collect data and analyze data.
• Justification of suitability

4. Materials

• List of samples – include details on the maximum number of samples you plan using in the proposal
• Sample handling procedure (500 words)
• Waste generation

Appendix: Attachment with preliminary results from previous CLS study or proof of concept or other lab analysis

Instruments:

Please visit the About page for details on the Mid-IR endstations:

• The Bruker endstation is optimized for high-brightness, diffraction-limited spectromicroscopy with synchrotron infrared radiation.
• The Agilent endstation is optimized for high spatial resolution, large field of view chemical infrared imaging.
• The IRsweep endstation is optimized for high signal-to-noise, time-resolved spectroscopy measurements with microsecond time resolution.

Techniques:

In the user portal, the mid-IR beamline has the following four techniques listed. Beside each technique is the type of measurement

• FTIR spectromicroscopy - Measurements using the single-point detector. For example point-by-point mapping or single-point microscopic measurements
• Chemical Infrared Imaging - Array (FPA) Imaging
• ATR infrared spectroscopy - Measurement in ATR configuration.
• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) - bulk spectroscopic measurement

TIPS

• Contact beamline staff before submitting a proposal!
• Clearly state your research problem so a non-expert can understand
• Prepare a detailed experimental plan
• Demonstrate a clear path for publication of the CLS results

Multiple Beamline Proposal - If a proposal is to be performed on multiple beamlines, you can add additional Facilities to the same proposal.

When you submit your proposal you and all your team members will get an email notification that a proposal has been successfully submitted. After submitting, you will get emails for items relating to your proposal that need your attention. Notifications can include:

• Review Required (Safety, Technical or Peer Review)
• Clarification of Issues (Safety, Technical or Peer Review) during the review process
• Responses to Clarification of Issues during the review process
• Permit Amendments – notification of review status (Approved/Denied)