SAXS/WAXS Experiments

Commissioning of the SAXS/WAXS beamline is now complete allowing the beamline to operate a full schedule of user hours with ongoing beamline development occurring at other times. Full details of the techniques available and suitable samples are covered in the relevant SAXS webpages. General details on applying for beamtime at the Australian Synchrotron are available in the User Information section of the website.the main website. Hints, tips and requests for users applying for SAXS/WAXS time are detailed below.

Preparing Your Experiment Proposal

When writing your proposal it is important to consider the suitability of the SAXS/WAXS beamline for your experiment. The 'Samples for SAXS/WAXS' and 'SAXS Specifications' pages are recommended reading when preparing a proposal and will help in preparing and planning your experiment. For questions regarding planning an experiment that are not covered by the information on our website, please contact beamline staff. However, please use the website as a first point of reference.

Hints regarding assessment criteria

• Clearly specify why the experiment cannot be conducted on a laboratory SAXS instrument
• Clearly state how the data collected will be analysed after the experiment. Information on programs to be used, potential models and what parameters are being sought in the analysis is recommended. This information is indicative of a well considered experiment and helps reviewers understand the goals of the proposal.
• Detail any publications arising from previous synchrotron work. In particular, be aware that a track record of conducting experiments at the Australian Synchrotron without subsequent publication will not be well regarded. This is particularly true if time has been awarded twice or more.
• For assessing scientific merit, in addition to explaining the overall aims of your research clearly state the role of the proposed experiment in the research program. For example, give details of the specific hypothesis being tested by the experiment.

Requests for the Experimental Section

• Be mindful of the sample mounting and handling capabilities of the beamline (refer to 'Samples for SAXS/WAXS') because a description of how samples will be handled and mounted on the beamline is required.
• Similarly, be aware of the sample environments available on the beamline (refer to 'Samples for SAXS/WAXS'), and detail which environments are required. Additionally, provide details of any sample environments/requirements that are not presently available or that are intended to be brought on site.
• If you plan to bring your own equipment, sample environments or sample mounts this must be stated clearly in the proposal to ensure the technical feasibility of the experiment can be fairly assessed. Note that minimum cable length from the sample stage to outside the experimental hutch is 7m.
• All proposals are required to clearly state what Q-range(s) are required for the experiment. Please refer to the SAXS Specifications page for more information on the Q-range available.
• Be aware that typical exposure times are < 1 minute. This allows large numbers of samples to be studied and requires you to make plans to made to minimise time to change or swap samples to ensure efficient use of beam time.

During Your Experiment

Beamline Induction

After a successful application for an experiment, you will be required to undertake separate facility and beamline safety inductions before beginning your work. Following successful completion of the facility safety induction, users are expected to participate in the beamline-specific safety induction - prior to beginning work on the beamline. All experiment participants are requested to make themselves available for this induction at the beginning of the experiment as a single group regardless of when they plan to work onsite, i.e. night shift users must be available at the start also. This is to ensure that beamline staff are available onsite to perform the induction and to ensure that all those involved in an experiment are trained to work safely.

User Support Policy

User support on the SAXS/WAXS beamline is outlined below. Although it may occaisionally be possible for us to provide additional support, this should not be expected. If additional support is required it should be discussed with beamline staff as soon as possible. This support policy refers to troubleshooting only. Changes in the experimental setup and/or SAXS camera will only be undertaken until 8pm and this should be considered when planning your experiments.

Beamline staff will be available onsite between 9:00am and 5:00pm on weekdays and may be contacted directly for support during this time.

Beamline staff will be onsite at weekends only as required for beamline set-up.

Outside these hours the Control Room (extension 123) should be a first point of contact. If the control room operators are unable to assist, a member of the beamline staff will be available on call during weekday evenings and at weekends until midnight. Staff are unavailable after midnight.

User Feedback Survey

To facilitate user-driven development and improvement, the Australian Synchrotron requires that a User Feedback Survey is completed after each experiment conducted at the facility. After your experiment, one member of the research group / team should complete the online survey found here. Regardless of the number of participants in an experiment, only one feedback survey is required. This survey provides us with an indicator of beamline performance and helps us highlight areas for development and all user groups are encouraged to complete it.