Australian National Beamline Facility (ANBF)
BL20B, Photon Factory, Tsukuba, Japan

Contact details for the ANBF

Dr Michael CHEAH
Australian Beamline KEK-PF
Oho 1-1, Tsukuba-shi
Ibaraki-ken, Japan 305-0801

Phone: +81 29 864 7959 (ANBF office, direct)
Fax: +81 29 864 7967
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 

Internal phone numbers (PHS):

• Michael: 2631
• ANBF office: 3891
• User cabin: 3885
• Beamline 20B: 3820
• Beamline xx: 38xx 

These may also be reached from outside the facility via the host organisation (KEK) access number: +81 29 864 5200, which is followed by a prompt in Japanese (then dial the PHS number).

Techniques available on this beamline

The ANBF is a mature bending magnet facility that focuses on fluorescence x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and complements the transmission XAS capabilities available at the Australian Synchrotron.

What to include in proposal details

Please click here (pdf 64kb) or here (word 37kb) to download a copy of the XAS Proposal Guidelines issued by the XAS Program Advisory Committee.

Please note that as a remote facility operating within a host organisation overseas, the ANBF has a number of administrative procedures that are different from and additional to those for beamlines at the AS. Should your proposal be competitive for beamtime at the ANBF, please contact Michael for further information on these procedures.

Beamline technical information

Monochromators and energy ranges:

• Si(111): 4.5 - 21 keV
• Si(311): 11 - 35 keV

The beam size is adjustable between 0.1 mm squared and 20 mm x 2 mm (horizontal x vertical).

The beamline components and instrumentation are principally controlled via 'SPEC' and an accompanying suite of GUIs.

Experimental capabilities

• A 36-element solid state Ge detector is available for fluorescence experiments together with ionisation chambers.
• Standard experiment sample temperature is room temperature or in a closed-cycle helium cryostat (10 - 310 K).
• Custom high-temperature apparatus may be accommodated provided this is discussed with Michael well in advance.
• Grazing-incidence geometry is available at room temperature only.
• Cryostat sample attachments are available onsite to support polycrystalline powders, thin films and solutions.
• An in-situ solution electrochemical cell is available for room temperature experiments.

Some diffraction techniques not suited to the facilities at the AS are also available.

There is also a dedicated ANBF preparation laboratory onsite including the following equipment:

• FTIR and UV-Vis spectrophotometer
• PAR 473A potentiostat/galvanostat
• Milli-Q water purification system
• Microbalances
• Optical microscope
• Ultrasonic bath
• Water chiller/circulator
• Chemicals handling and storage facilities including a glove box and fume hood

Please note that there are limited facilities for disposing of chemical and other experiment waste onsite.

Sample transport

If you have any concerns regarding the transportation of samples / experimental gear into Japan, please consult Michael well in advance. For example, to minimise the need for bringing dangerous materials overseas, chemicals required for experiments and/or sample preparation may be locally sourced in Japan on request.

Safety regulations

The ANBF operates within the safety guidelines and regulations of the host organisation (KEK).

All users are required to obey all regulations put in place to govern conduct at the KEK and at all times. Failure to do so will have consequences for all parties involved.

Data and data analysis

All raw data collected are automatically saved in SPEC format consisting of columns of ASCII text. It is recommended that raw data are first reduced using 'AVERAGE' (download to Windows: click here or Linux (i386): click here), which handles energy calibration, averaging of multiple scans and deadtime correction, prior to analysis by the program of your choice. Michael is experienced in XAS data analysis and can provide expert advice in this regard. Please note that analysing data is not one of the beamline scientist's specific tasks, but he will do his best to accommodate reasonable requests for his assistance.