Ten beamlines are in operation and can receive regular proposals
Sirius, the Brazilian synchrotron light source designed and operated by the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), an organization supervised by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), has opened its fourth regular call for research projects to be conducted in its first ten experimental stations.
The fourth call for proposals for research at Sirius will run from June 3 to 24, 2024
From June 3 to 24, researchers who are interested in conducting experiments at Sirius may submit proposals. The experiments from the proposals selected during this call will be conducted between October 2024 and March 2025.
Although there is no cost for academic use, researchers from Brazilian and foreign institutions who live in Latin America and the Caribbean whose projects are approved may request financial aid to travel to Campinas, where Sirius is located, and use the facilities there.
Ten beamlines are in operation and available to receive regular proposals. Research projects for the Manacá and Cedro beamlines can be submitted as part of a fast track system, on an ongoing and uninterrupted basis.
- Carnaúba: Micro and nano-florescence and X-ray spectroscopy and ptychography.
- Cateretê: Coherent diffraction imaging (ptychography) and X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS).
- Ema: High-pressure X-ray spectroscopy and diffraction.
- Imbuia: Micro and nano-synchrotron infrared spectroscopy.
- Ipê: X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS), Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scaterring (RIXS).
- Mogno: X-ray micro- and nanotomography.
- Paineira: X-ray diffraction of polycrystalline materials (PXRD).
- Sabiá: Soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy and photoemission microscopy.
- Cedro: Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy in the ultraviolet (UV) range.
- Manacá: Macromolecular crystallography (MX).
Equipment stoppage and timeline changes
From August to December 2024, Sirius accelerator structures will undergo significant maintenance. During this period, new components will be installed in the storage ring.
As Harry Westfahl Jr., Director of the Brazilian Synchrotron Light National Laboratory (LNLS), notes, “One of the main activities during the next equipment stoppage at Sirius will be installation of the new superconducting radiofrequency cavity. This advanced system will allow a significant increase in the current in the storage ring, resulting in a proportional increase in the beamline currents. Right now Sirius operates with a current limited to 100 mA. With the new cavity, this capacity could be boosted to up to 350 mA, three and a half times the current flow of synchrotron light in the beamlines.”
Implementing these new facilities required changes to be made to Sirius’s operating calendar. For this reason, there will be fewer research groups during this cycle.
“This increase in current will be implemented gradually: when we come back online during the second half of 2024, the operating current will be increased until we reach approximately 200 mA. To keep raising this capacity up to 350 mA, we plan to install another type of radiofrequency cavity (a third harmonic structure) during phase two of the project. These improvements will make it possible to analyze more samples each day and acquire data more quickly in experiments with high temporal resolution, significantly benefiting the scientific research carried out at Sirius,” adds Westfahl.
Double blind evaluation of proposals
As in previous calls for proposals, the research proposals will be evaluated through a double blind distributed evaluation system in which all researchers submitting proposals are also potential reviewers in their working areas during the same call for proposals. At least five reviewers evaluate each proposal.
More information about submitting proposals and financial aid can be found at Information for Users on the LNLS website, and you can also contact the technical staff at the LNLS to answer any questions using the form below.
About LNLS
The Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) engages in scientific research and technological development involving synchrotron light, focusing on the operation and exploration of the multidisciplinary potential of Sirius, the most advanced scientific infrastructure in Brazil. With ten research stations already operational and open to the scientific and industrial community, Sirius enables thousands of researchers from many fields to test hypotheses about the microscopic mechanisms that result in the properties of materials, both natural and synthetic, used in different areas such as health, environment, energy, and agriculture. LNLS is part of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas (SP), a social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI).
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently developing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. It is responsible for operating four National Laboratories: Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), and Biorenewables (LNBR), as well as the Ilum School of Science, which offers a bachelor’s degree program in science and Technology with support from the Ministry of Education (MEC).
