ESRF Beamtime

The use of X-ray instrumentation at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble is available to researchers across the world for the exploration of living matter and materials.

Installation européenne de rayonnement synchrotron (ESRF – European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) in Grenoble, France is a science hub hosting major international institutes for the exploration of living matter and materials. Every year, 9000 scientists from 21 partner countries and from around the world travel to Grenoble to use its X-rays for leading-edge research. This fundamental and applied research contributes to addressing global challenges such as health, energy and the environment, to the development of new technologies for industry, and to preserving humanity’s cultural heritage.

ESRF Beamtime allows scientists to use the X-ray instrumentation facilities operated by the ESRF to conduct their research projects. The public beamlines at ESRF provide some 500 shifts of beamtime each year for user experiments.  In addition, several externally funded Collaborating Research Group (CRG) beamlines make available one third of their beamtime to ESRF users. Beamlines at ESRF operate 24 hours a day in 3 shifts, each of 8 hours. ESRF beamlines are designed for research in diverse areas and are characterised by specific techniques of investigation.

Applications for beamtime can be submitted via different types of proposals:

• Standard Research Proposal: Request for public beamtime over a period of six months on ESRF or CRG beamlines that are not structural biology beamlines.
• Long-Term Project (LTP) Proposal: Users may request a long-term commitment from the ESRF to provide beamtime during up to six successive scheduling periods (three years).

Proposals for Structural Biology beamtime:

• Block Allocation Group (BAG) Proposal: Large, well-established groups requiring a significant amount of beamtime should apply for the BAG status. Each BAG is awarded a block of beamtime per allocation period. The scheduling of their beamtime is also grouped, allowing greater flexibility in the choice of projects and samples.
• Rolling Proposal: Groups requiring beamtime for single or a small number of projects, including:
  • Crystallography and BioSAXS proposal: By scientists who are not included in a BAG proposal.
  • Cryo-EM proposal: Request of beamtime for the use of the cryo-electro microscope CM01.

The research proposed should be identified within the framework of one of the following societal themes:

• Earth and Environment.
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
• Energy.
• Health.
• Other Functional Materials.
• Other Fundamental Science (other than that included in the themes already given above).
• Other (if none of the proposed societal themes is relevant; in this case, keywords must be given).

Each application for beamtime is assigned to one of 12 scientific areas:

• CH (Chemistry).
• ES (Earth Science).
• EV (Environment).
• HC (Hard Condensed Matter Science).
• HG (Cultural Heritage).
• LS (Life Sciences).
• MA (Applied Material Science).
• MD (Medicine).
• ME (Engineering).
• MI (Methods and Instrumentation).
• MX (Structural Biology) – only for MX BAG, Rolling applications and LTP proposals.
• SC (Soft Condensed Matter Science).

Applicants should find a beamline from the list provided and check the beamlines status. The main proposer may request up to two principal beamlines and up to two alternative beamlines for each principal beamline. The proposer must give number of shifts requested on each principal beamline. Requests for beamtime are based on shifts of eight hours. Allocations of beamtime will usually be made in multiples of three shifts.