Notice for Applicants Planning to Perform Experiments at BL2 or BL3

Enhancements in experimental capabilities at EH3 of BL2 have enabled the conduct of certain types of experiments at the hutch that were previously limited to BL3.
Consequently, applicants can now apply for beamtime without specifying the desired beamline (hutch). If the applicants have specific preferences for the experimental hutch at either BL2 or BL3 due to potential difficulties in conducting the proposed experiments at other hutches, please provide a brief explanation in the column of “Supplementary information regarding beamline and hutch requests.”
Experimental conditions available at EH3 of BL2 may differ from those at experimental hutches of BL3. Therefore, please carefully read the descriptions provided in this announcement. For detailed information about the experimental capabilities of the experimental hutches, please contact the XFEL Utilization Division (sacla-bl.jasri@spring8.or.jp).
Note that the hutch and beamline assignment will be decided based on the overall judgment of the review results and the experimental conditions. Therefore, please be aware that the assigned beamline might be different from the one desired in the proposal.

User Operation of Femtosecond Laser System at EH3 of BL2

Femtosecond laser is now available at EH3 of BL2 after the 2024A term. The typical operation conditions of the femtosecond laser are expected as follows at EH3 in 2025B. Please note that the timing monitor is still under development at EH3. Further information may be provided when you contact the XFEL Utilization Division (sacla-bl.jasri@spring8.or.jp).

• Wavelength: 0.25 – 2.6 µm (OPA only)
• Pulse energy: ~1 mJ max. (wavelength dependent)
• Repetition rate: 60 Hz max.
• Timing monitor: Not available (Time resolution in pump-and-probe experiments is about 1 ps.)

Note that the nanosecond laser system at EH3 will continue to be available for user experiments.

Pre-submission Inquiry about Feasibilities

When the applicants have concerns or questions regarding the feasibility of planned experiments, it is strongly encouraged to contact the XFEL Utilization Division (sacla-bl.jasri@spring8.or.jp) to receive their comments well before the proposal submission. The objects are not limited to items listed in the section “Experimental instruments/operation modes that need prior confirmation”. If the applicants receive comments from beamline scientists regarding the feasibility, the comments can be mentioned in the proposal.

Co-Principal Investigators

If desired, applicants can designate a Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI). The applicant/project leader, or PI, may appoint one or more Co-PIs from among project team members who will share responsibilities with the PI to lead the project. Eligibility for Co-PI status is limited to individuals who can also apply for proposals individually. The role of a Co-PI can include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Supervising multiple related projects based on deep knowledge and expertise in experimental instruments, methodologies, and techniques.
• Acting as the primary contact for communication with beamline scientists at the facility to ensure smooth execution of the proposed research.

Note that beamline scientists may also be designated as Co-PIs.
If the applicants desire to designate Co-PIs, they should provide the information about the Co-PIs (User card ID number, name, and institution/company) in the following section.

Quotations from Related Applications

Applicants may partially include quoted descriptions from other (past or ongoing) proposals to streamline the proposal preparation and clarify the relationships between those proposals only when the following conditions are met. However, applicants/project leaders still must explicitly distinguish their current proposal from the original.

• The original proposal is/was submitted by the current applicant or one of the team members.
• The original proposal’s details, such as the applicant’s name and proposal number, are specified in the current application.
• Quotations are limited to part of the required items, for example, the research background in the “abstract” section or the measurement method and layout in the “experimental details” section.
• The current application must contain all necessary information about the proposed research to enable a full review without reading other proposals.

Applicant Eligibility for Proprietary Proposals

Applicants/project leaders for proprietary general proposals were limited to those affiliated with corporate enterprises located and registered in Japan. From the 2024B term, those affiliated with academic research institutions located and registered in Japan have been also eligible to apply. Any inquiries may be directed to the Users Office (sacla.jasri@spring8.or.jp)

Response to Review Comments for Past Applications

If applicants/project leaders have received the review comments for the related past applications, they must respond to the comments. The responses should be given in the column “The preparation status related to this application proposal.”
The past review results can be found with the review comments on the SACLA User Information website (SACLA UI site) My Page for the last five terms.

List of Experimental Instruments/Operation Modes

The following instruments or XFEL operation modes are available for user experiments. Those who plan to use the instruments or operation modes are requested to contact the XFEL Utilization Division (mail to: sacla-bl.jasri@spring8.or.jp) to clarify the feasibility with the facility staff well in advance of the proposal submission.
The typical operating conditions and setup time of those instruments or XFEL modes are summarized on the webpage. Please contact the XFEL Utilization Division (mail to: sacla-bl.jasri@spring8.or.jp) to obtain up-to-date information for the 2025B term.

• Two-color XFEL
  Double pulse XFEL with two different photon energies is available at BL3. The maximum time separation between the two pulses is about 300 fs, but it depends on the operation parameters. The two-color XFEL is also available at BL2, however, it is not possible to make a time separation between them. The photon energies have some restrictions at either beamline.
• Reflection Self-Seeding System
  A reflection self-seeding system is available at BL3. The bandwidth of self-seeded XFEL can be much narrower than that of SASE XFEL, while the average pulse energy is higher compared to the monochromatized SASE XFEL. A typical setup time for seeded XFEL is 1 shift. In addition, it takes more time to change the wavelength of seeded XFEL than in the standard SASE case. Those setup times will be included in a user’s beamtime, therefore the applicants should take into account the time when estimating the number of shifts for the experiment.
• Split-and-Delay Optics (SDO)
  An SDO system produces double monochromatic XFEL pulses with a time separation of up to 100 ps. This system is installed in the optics hutch of BL3 to be available at all the experimental hutches of BL3. The SDO system has been developed in collaboration with the Prof. Kazuto Yamauchi’s group at Osaka University.
• Sub-10 nm Focusing System
  A focusing system of XFEL (9 keV) down to the sub-10 nm level at BL3 EH4c is available to users. Since the system is strictly dedicated to experiments using the ultra-high-intensity XFEL, there are severe restrictions on the sample environment and detector arrangements. Continuous improvements are being made to this system, therefore the operation parameters may vary from the previous conditions. The focusing system has been developed in collaboration with the Prof. Kazuto Yamauchi’s group at Osaka University.
• Portable Nano-Focusing System
  A portable focusing system using compact KB optics is available at BL2 EH3 and BL3 EH2/4c. This system can focus the XFEL pulses down to a few hundred nanometers and make the intense XFEL pulses with an intensity over 10¹⁹ W/cm² at the maximum. Differing from the available nano-focusing system (100exa) at EH5 of BL3, this focusing system can be used with a large-area detector and also an optical laser for pump and probe experiments.
• Intense Terahertz Pulses
  At BL3 EH2, intense THz pulses are available, produced with a nonlinear optical crystal (DSTMS) using a pulsed optical laser from an optical parametric amplifier. Since the operation will be trial basis for now, characteristics of THz pulses may change. Based on typical operation conditions in FY2024, the field intensity on a sample after focusing in a 1-mm-diameter spot was approximately 0.4 MV/cm. The central frequency was 1.6 THz. Please note that tuning the THz pulses and characterizing their pulse shapes take considerably longer than preparing standard laser pulses. The setup time for THz pulses will be included in a user’s beamtime, therefore the applicants should take into account the time when estimating the number of shifts for the experiment.
• Few-Cycle Near-Infrared Pulses
  Few-cycle near-infrared pulses produced using Ar-filled hollow-core fibers are available at BL1 EH4a and BL3 EH2. The typical pulse duration is about 8 fs. There are restrictions on the experimental configurations to use the few-cycle pulses in experiments.
• Nano-Beam Coherent Diffraction Imaging (CDI) System (MAXIC-S)
  A CDI experimental system using a 100-nm focused XFEL beam is available to users at BL2 EH3/4b. This system, named MAXIC-S, has been developed in collaboration with the Prof. Yoshinori Nishino’s group at Hokkaido University.
• General Purpose Experimental System for Soft X-ray FEL Opto-Spintronics
  An experimental system with a sub-micrometer focusing Walter mirror is available at BL1 for the observation of optical effects such as nonlinear optical phenomena and resonant magneto-optical Kerr effect. This system has been developed in collaboration with Prof. Iwao Matsuda’s and Prof. Hidekazu Mimura’s groups at the University of Tokyo.
• High-Power Femtosecond Laser System
  A high-power femtosecond laser system at BL2 EH6 with a maximum power of 500 TW will be operated under limited conditions for the time being. To ensure enough time for the tuning, maintenance, and upgrade of the laser system, the amount of beamtime is limited. We can approve at most about two of the proposals that require the laser system in this term.

High-Power Nanosecond Laser System

Osaka University deployed a high-power nanosecond laser system (HERMES) at SACLA. An experimental system is available at BL3 EH5 for advanced pump-and-probe experiments with the XFEL and the high-power nanosecond laser.
Applicants/project leaders who apply for the above experimental system are required to consent to the following matters before submitting their proposals.

1. Any proposal using the above experimental system is also regarded as a proposal for Collaborative Research of the Institute of Laser Engineering (ILE), Osaka University.
2. JASRI provides information given in a proposal to ILE if the proposal is approved.
3. Applicants/project leaders shall state in presentations and publications that the results were obtained by using both the SACLA XFEL and the high-power nanosecond laser system of ILE, Osaka University.

Applicants/project leaders should contact the XFEL Utilization Division (sacla-bl.jasri@spring8.or.jp) in advance of the proposal submission for information on the experimental system and its capabilities.
Please note that the typical operating conditions of the laser system in the 2024B term were as follows.

• Pulse energy: ~15 J on sample
• Pulse shape: 5 ns square pulse
• Central wavelength: 532 nm
• Focused beam profile: flat-top profiles with a diameter of ~120, ~170, ~260, or ~470 µm (FWHM) using a diffractive optical element (DOE).

SACLA Feasibility Study Program

The SACLA Feasibility Study Program provides an opportunity to experience the use of SACLA on a trial basis at some specific instruments and objectives.
The SACLA Research Proposals and the Feasibility Study Program can be applied simultaneously. If you apply both with the same contents, you do not need to submit the application form of the Feasibility Study Program. Instead, please put a checkmark on the corresponding item in Term 5 (Co-Application with Feasibility Study Proposals) of the application form of the Research Proposals. In this case, the submitted proposal is reviewed as the Feasibility Study Program only when your Research Proposal is rejected.

Feasibility-Check Beamtime (FCBT)

We may accept a request of a feasibility-check beamtime (FCBT, max 0.5 shifts) for sample screening before the main experiment. Please note that the feasibility-check can be performed under the following conditions during FCBT:

• Beamline & experimental hutch: BL2 EH3
• Experimental system: DAPHNIS (J. Synchrotron Rad. 22, 532-537, 2015)
• Standard photon energy: 10 keV (pink beam)
• X-ray spot size: 1-2 um (with the 1-um focusing system at EH3).

Those who require the feasibility-check beamtime should put a check mark to the corresponding item in Term 5 (Co-Application with Feasibility Study Proposals) of the application form of the SACLA Research Proposals.

Remote Experiments

A remote operation system allows users to control experimental instruments from outside the facility. The remote system will be available for some types of experiments. The availability of the system for a specific experiment will be determined based on the status of system preparation and the experimental conditions.

Beamtime on a Single-shift-in-a-day Basis

We may allocate beamtime on a single-shift-a-day basis (one shift is 12 hours from 10 am to 10 pm or 10 pm to 10 am) for technical/operational reasons.