If you are interested in using SPring-8, please read the following information carefully before applying.

1. Research Term

SPring-8 operates for 2 half-year research terms (A term and B term) each year. A term, the first half of a fiscal year, typically spans from April to August (incl. summer maintenance period); and B term, the second half, is usually from September to March (incl. winter maintenance period).

At the beamlines intended for industrial applications (BL14B2, BL19B2, and BL46XU), however, A and B terms are further divided into two periods: the first half of A term, the second half of A term, the first half of B term, and the second half of B term.

2. Types of Research

There are two types of research available at SPring-8: proprietary and non-proprietary research.

Priority Research:
Users have no obligation to publish their research results. In return, proprietary users are required to pay the fee for the beamtime used (See 6.1 Beamtime Fee). Submitted proposals are reviewed only from the viewpoint of feasibility and safety.

Non-Proprietary Research:
Users are exempt from paying the beamtime fee if their research is non-proprietary. For research to be considered non-proprietary, users are required to publish their results with proper acknowledgement.

3. Types of Proposals

We offer a variety of types of proposals each with distinctive characteristics to suit your research needs as shown in the table below. For further details, please click here. The programs for priority industrial application proposals and nanotechnology/nanonet support proposals were terminated at the end of 2011B.

*If you are considering submitting an urgent proposal or a time-designated proposal, please check with the Beamline Scientist of your desired beamline in advance for the availability of beamtime.

4. Project Leader Eligibility

[All types of proposals except for budding researchers support proposal]
Eligible individuals are those who can complete radiation worker registration before using synchrotron radiation at SPring-8 and be responsible for experiments carried out at SPring-8 as a leader. Please note that students are not eligible.

[Budding researchers support proposal]
If you are a master's* or doctoral student and wish to apply for beamtime (submit a proposal as a project leader), the budding researchers support proposal is your only choice (as a project team member, you can participate in any research projects). You may be a master's or doctoral student at the time of proposal submission; but you must maintain your student status at the time of experiment.
Otherwise, your proposal will be switched to a general proposal.
*From 2012A master's students are eligible to submit budding researchers support proposals.

5. Beamlines Available to Users

All 26 public beamlines and some of the RIKEN beamlines are available to users.

Use the following links for the list of beamlines available to users by type of proposal:
   Table 2.1 Beamlines Available to Users by Type of Proposal (A Term)
   Table 2.2 Beamlines Available to Users by Type of Proposal (B Term)

To check the specs of the beamlines, click here.

6. Fees (Tax Included)

Fees for public beamline use and user fees are summarized in the Table 3. Fees for Public Beamline Use & User Fees.

6.1 Beamtime Fee

[Non-proprietary Research]
Users are exempt from paying the beamtime fee.
Note: From 2011B, users are required to publish their research in a refereed journal or equivalent (refereed proceedings, dissertation, etc.) and register the publications with the Publications Database within three years from the end of the research term for their research to be considered non-proprietary. For details, please click here.

[Proprietary Research]
Regular Use: 480,000 yen/shift (8 hours)
Time-Designated Use: 720,000 yen (regular fee + 50% premium)/shift (8 hours)

6.2 Program Fee for Non-Proprietary Grant-Aided Proposal

Intended for non-proprietary research projects that have been reviewed and approved for a large research grant, non-proprietary grant-aided proposals are exempt from scientific review, and only the feasibility and the safety of the experiment are reviewed and are available on the payment of program fee.

6.3 User Fees
Public beamline users are required to pay the fees to cover the costs of beamline maintenance/operation and consumables actually used (user fees). User fees are composed of a fixed fee charged for wear and tear on the facility and a variable fee charged for liquid He, He gas, and the stockroom reagents, parts, and stationery.

Important: For certain types of proposals, the Government will support users by covering the user fees. Please refer to the call for proposals for your eligibility in receiving the support.

Click here for more details about the user fees.

7. Application Procedures

7.1 User Registration (Not Required of Repeat Users)
To submit an application online, you need to have obtained a user account (user card ID number and password) by registering yourself. Please make sure that not only project leaders/applicants but also all project team members are registered as SPring-8 users. If you are not registered as a SPring-8 user, click here to register.

Note: Registration information is also used for contact. If your registration details change, please update your account from the UI site.
     Front Page >My Page (login required) >"Edit My Details" link in the top right hand corner

7.2 Application for Beamtime/Proposal Submission
Applicants (project leaders) are required to submit proposals online from the User Information website (UI site) through the web-based proposal submission system.

UI site: http://user.spring8.or.jp/en/

Log in to My Page with your user card ID number and password. Please note that only the project leaders can submit proposals: if a project team member needs to submit a proposal in place of the project leader, he or she must log in to the project leader's account. In this case, the project leader is responsible for managing his or her account information.

For instructions on how to fill out an application form, click here.

It is possible that the web browser crashes while working on an application, so you are strongly encouraged to draft your application offline first using a MS Word template downloadable from here.

For step-by-step instructions on how to submit proposals, please click here.

8. Proposal Submission Deadlines

JASRI generally launches the call for proposals twice a year with the following deadlines. For specific dates, please refer to the call for proposals announced in May (for B term) and November (for A term of the following year).

• General, Industrial Creation (the first half* of each term), Green/Life Innovation, and Budding Researchers Support Proposals:
  A Term: early December (*early April for the second half of A term) 
  B Term: late June (*late October for the second half of B term)

• Long-term and Non-Proprietary Grant-Aided Proposals:
About two weeks after the deadlines for general and other proposals (for both A and B terms).

• Urgent and Time-Designated Proposals, and Measurement Service:
We accept applications on a rolling basis (no specific submission deadline). Please allow at least three weeks for processing (from the date of application until you can carry out your experiment). For details please click here.

9. Important Notes

9.1 Radiation Worker Registration
The Japanese Law (Ordinance on Prevention of Ionizing Radiation Hazards) requires all SPring-8 users to be registered as SPring-8 radiation workers. To complete your registration, please download a "Radiation Worker Registration Form (Form 5-1)" in fillable PDF format from the UI site, fill out and send it by post at least two weeks before your visit. For details, click here.

9.2 Safety Precaution
For your safety, do not work alone. Please include your project team member in the online proposal application and make sure to work in a group of two or more.

9.3 Reduction/Cancellation of Beamtime
Please be advised that your scheduled beamtime may be reduced or cancelled in emergencies such as equipment failure and natural disaster. In such cases, users cannot claim compensation for the lost beamtime.

Contact

SPring-8 Users Office, User Administration Division
Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute
1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198 JAPAN
Tel : +81-791-58-0961     Fax : +81-791-58-0965
Email: sp8jasri@spring8.or.jp