New Users at DESY Photon Science

QuickLinks
  • DOOR
    - User Registration - Proposal Submission - Administration of Experiment .....and more
PETRA III

Experimental hutch in the PETRA III hall "Max von Laue". (Credit: DESY)

FLASH

User experiment at FLASH - during the set-up phase. (Credit: DESY)

Beamline

Users control the experiments during their beamtime at a PETRA III beamline. (Credit: DESY)

Every year, more than 3000 scientists from all over the world and from virtually all disciplines of natural sciences make their way to Hamburg to work at DESY's photon sources. They utilise the unique light sources FLASH, the world’s first free-electron laser generating radiation in the vacuum ultraviolet and soft X-ray regions, and the synchrotron source PETRA III, which delivers X-ray radiation of an especially high brilliance. Currently, more than 30 beamlines and 60 instruments and experimental setups are available for user experiments at PETRA III and FLASH. A few more beamlines will become available in the coming years. Use of the facility is free of charge for academic research that is published according to established standards. Special conditions and application procedures are available for industry users.

Industry users
Industry users should first contact the Service Group Industry via email.
Please see their webpage: Innovation & Technologie Transfer


Academic users
If you are interested in performing experiments at DESY Photon Science facilities please first consult the webpages of PETRA III or FLASH
You may also contact the User Office or the staff of the respective beamline.

Briefly, for academic access, you will need to take the following steps to secure beamtime and ensure a successful experiment:

Step 1
For each experiment, users (except those from industries) must write a research proposal, ideally after consultation with the respective beamline scientist/ beamtime coordinator. Following the call for proposals, the project proposal must be submitted via the DESY Online Office for Research with Photons DOOR. If you are a first-time user, you will need to register at DOOR.

Step 2
Next, the proposal will undergo a general feasibility check through an internal review, followed by the assessment by one of the international Project Review Panels (PRPs).Based on their recommendations and rankings, DESY Photon Science will decide on approval. Beamtime will be allocated considering the PRPs’ recommendations and the needs of different user groups. Due to high demand, beamtime cannot be guaranteed for all highly ranked projects.

Step 3
Users, especially those preparing their first experiments at DESY photon sources, should arrange their visit and prepare their experiments well in advance, following the instructions given in the User Guide.To ensure a smooth execution of your experiment and to avoid any unnecessary loss of beamtime, all technical questions should be discussed with your assigned local contact before your arrival at DESY.

DESY offers limited support for travel expenses for users from German universities and users from EU member countries and associated states. Applications for financial support must be submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) of the proposal in advance via DOOR, before your trip to Hamburg, but not prior the approval of your proposal and allocation of beamtime.

During and after the experiment
Details of what needs to be done on-site during and after the experiment can be found in the User Guide.