Mail-In Services
Mail-In Service is an access mode where qualified CLS staff collect data on samples sent by users as part of academic or industrial projects.
Academic Mail-In
While many experiments require researchers to be on-site, other routine measurements are good candidates for Mail-In services where beamline staff collect data on samples provided by users with an active CLS Project.
While Mail-In beamtime is typically scheduled for a specified amount of beamtime, actual collection may take place as it is convenient for beamline staff, and your samples may not all be analyzed by the end of your scheduled Mail-In beamtime. You may be contacted by beamline staff during data collection to provide additional information or to assist with decisions during the experiment.
Users wanting Mail-In Services should contact beamline staff as early as possible to discuss available options.
If you are provided Mail-In Services, contact beamline staff to discuss your experiment plan, when your samples should arrive, and when you might expect your data collection to be completed.
Shipping
Follow all shipping instructions to ensure samples are accepted by the CLS shipping/receiving department, or for users from the University of Saskatchewan, deliver samples to CLS shipping/receiving at the back of the building.
Publication
Acknowledge the Canadian Light Source in publications on work performed in whole or in part at the CLS, and report those publications in the CLS User Portal. The list of publications reported to the CLS is an important factor in our funding and is taken into consideration during the CLS peer review process.
Academic Fees
Given that our resources are limited, and demand for Mail-In services is high in certain scientific areas, we are conducting a pilot project to formalize fee-for-service Mail-In data collection for academic projects awarded beamtime through the CLS peer review process, on the SGM beamline only. We will be looking for feedback from users participating in the pilot project so that the process can be adapted as necessary in the future.
Note that access fees for mail-in services on all other beamlines are unaffected at this time.
Remote Control
A limited set of CLS beamlines offer remote control data collection, where users send samples to the CLS and connect to beamline computers remotely from their home labs to collect data. At CMCF beamlines, remote control is the default access mode for all users. For all other beamlines, contact beamline staff to see if this could be an option for your experiment.
While Facility Access training is not required for remote control experiments, all team members participating in the beamtime will need to complete a Remote Beamline Specific Orientation (Remote BSO), which can be arranged ahead of time with beamline staff. Beamline staff will contact you with details about how to connect, and will give you instructions about how to control the beamline remotely to perform your data collection.
When the beamline is ready for you to begin, beamline staff will contact you. Before beginning your experiment, sign-on to your session permit through the User Portal.