Mail-In Program

The Powder Diffraction beamline offers a rapid access mail-in service for powder samples in capillaries at ambient conditions. This service should not be used as a replacement for merit access that is available 3 times per year.

Commercial users cannot use the mail-in service and need to contact the beamline staff directly at: as-pd@ansto.gov.au

Program Requirements

Groups can only submit 1 proposal per round.

Groups can select one of two energies: 21 or 16 keV for measurement under ambient conditions.

There is a maximum of 20 samples or a 3-hour shift (whichever is smaller), per group per round. Users requiring more samples or beamtime can submit a merit round proposal. The experiment may be cut short if it exceeds the permitted 3 h.

Can I run 20 samples each at 30 min? No, as the total time for the analysis will be ~10 h and there is a maximum of 3 h for an experiment

Can I run 20 samples each at 8 min (240 s per detector position)? No, although the total time for the analysis is ~ 160 min and less than 3 h, the actual total time is longer than 3 h due to the overhead in the measurement such as robot movement, detector movement and capillary alignment. A maximum of 200 s per detector position is allowed for running 20 samples.

Can I run 40 samples each at 4 min? No, although the total time for the analysis is ~160 min and less than 3 h, the number of samples exceeds the maximum of 20

The PD beamline will only accept low risk materials for mail-in

All hazards of your samples need to be disclosed in the EA form otherwise the experiment will be cancelled. We cannot accept any samples that are:

  • Radioactive

  • Explosives or unstable materials

  • Fatal if swallowed

  • Fatal in contact with skin

  • Causes severe skin burns and eye damage

  • Causes serious eye damage; and

  • Fatal if inhaled

  • Teratogens

  • Cytotoxins

 

When does the round open & close? Find out in the PD Rapid Access Mail-in section here