Linac Coherent Light Source

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* IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING ACCESS TO SLAC

To gain access to SLAC, all users must be registered on the LCLS/SSRL user portal and be listed on a scheduled experiment (this will alert Security and the VUE Center). Please coordinate other meetings or visits with your LCLS Instrument staff or contact the URA office for assistance.

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) encourages scientists from diverse fields to submit proposals for experiments that utilize the LCLS's unique capabilities. Interested scientists are encouraged to learn more about the latest developments by reviewing the instrument descriptions. Contact LCLS instrument scientists to discuss your proposed experiments and for updated performance parameters.

Atomic, Molecular & Optical Science (AMO)

Soft X-ray Materials Sciences (SXR)

X-ray Pump Probe (XPP)

X-ray Correlation Spectroscopy (XCS)

Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI)

Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography (MFX)

Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC)

A call for proposals is generally made twice per year approximately six months before the run is scheduled to begin.

NEW - - Standard Configurations for LCLS Beam Time

In Run 13, LCLS will test a new mode of operations called Standard Configuration Beam Time. The LCLS Science Departments (SXD, HXR, CXI, and MEC) will operate for ~25% of the run (possibly more if user demand is high) in a contiguous block of time during which the instruments will be in a Standard Configuration. In future runs, the Standard Configuration will change, allowing each instrument to rotate through the Standard Configurations that have evolved over the first five years of LCLS operations. The specifics of each Standard Configuration will be defined in the call for new proposals, and the experimental parameters that can be varied will be clearly described. The intent of this change is to reduce the amount of time that is wasted each run tearing down, setting up, and testing the same configurations at different times throughout the run. More importantly, we expect the reduced amount of setup and test time in these configurations will result in significantly more users and experiments to get beam time. Our SAC, PRP, and our Funding Agency have all endorsed this change in operations and strongly endorse the goals of higher efficiency and more LCLS user throughput.
If you are submitting a proposal for Standard Configuration Beam Time, please indicate this in the proposal and follow the directions in the call for proposals. The PRP will review all proposals with the goals of this new mode of operation in mind and will advise LCLS on each proposal’s scientific merit accordingly. The remaining ~75% of the beam time will be run in our normal operational mode with the high level of flexibility and user support for which LCLS has become known.

For approved proposals, alert us in advance who will participate in scheduled experiments and review instructions to prepare for beam time. Prior to arrival, users need to register or update their contact information through the User Portal.  Security and URA office hours are 7 am-12 noon and 1-4 pm (except weekends and holidays).