If you are interested in using SPring-8, please read the following information carefully before applying.
1. Research Term and Beamlines Available to Users
1.1 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).
e.g.
A Term 202X
from April 1 to August 31, 202X
B Term 202X
from September 1, 202X to March 31, 202X
At the beamlines with sixannual calls, however, A and B terms are further divided into three periods. The beamtime schedule for individual proposals is subject to the results of the coordination of all proposals and may not be as requested.
1.2 Beamlines Available to Users
All 26 SPring-8 public beamlines, CryoTEMs and 13 RIKEN beamlines are available to users. Click here for the current call for proposals for the list of beamlines available to users by type of proposal.
To check the specificarions of the beamlines, click here.
There are two types of research available at SPring-8: proprietary and non-proprietary research.
Proprietary 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 technical feasibility, safety of experiment, sociality and ethicality.
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 and register the published works with the SPring-8 Publications Database within three years from the end of the research term.
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 1 below.
Proposals that provide an opportunity to secure stable and planned beamtime for doctoral students by making the proposal valid for one to three years during their doctoral program. Submitted proposals need to go through a two-stage review process of application screening and interview. Proposals are accepted for research term B.
Intended for the proposals subject to pay the program fee to prioritize using the beamtime. The users also have obligation to publish their research results. Under the program, the proposals will be granted an exemption from scientific review; only the safety and technical feasibility of the experiment, and ethics (e.g., exclusively for peaceful purposes) are considered. One-year proposals are accepted for research term A. Quasi-proprietary use is available only to applicants affiliated with industrial institutions.
twice/six times a year Once a year for One-year Proposal
For general research using synchrotron radiation, with no obligation to publish results and a simplified review process. A beamtime fee will be charged.
The proposal can be applied at any time, and will be examined immediately after application submitted. JASRI staff will perform measurements on behalf of users, and users simply send their samples to SPring-8.
The proposal can be applied at any time, and will be examined immediately after application submitted. The hour-based use proposal program, provides users in the early stages of their research with a convenient opportunity to use SPring-8 to confirm the usefulness or to examine measurement conditions. It can also be used to obtain additional data after the experiment.
JASRI staff will perform measurements on behalf of users, and users simply send their samples to SPring-8.
six times a year
If you are considering submitting an urgent proposal, a time-designated proposal or a measurement service proposal, please contact the Beamline Scientist of the beamline of interest in advance for the availability of beamtime.
4. Project Leader Eligibility
[All types of proposals except for Graduate Student Proposal]
Eligible individuals are those who can complete radiation worker registration before using synchrotron radiation at SPring-8 (not necessary for Measurement Service and PX-BL Automatic Data Collection) and be responsible for experiments carried out at SPring-8 as a leader. Please note that students are not eligible.
[Graduate Student Proposal]
If you are a doctoral student (at the time of experiment) and wish to apply for beamtime (submit a proposal as a project leader), the Graduate Student 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 doctoral student status at the time of experiment. Otherwise, your proposal will be switched to a general proposal.
5. Beamtime Available to Users
Maximum percentages of allocable beamtime (varies by type of proposals) are summarized in the following Table 2.
Note: Users are required to publish their research in a refereed journal or equivalent (refereed proceedings, Doctoral thesis, 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:
Type of fee
Per shift*
Beamtime fee
480,000 yen
Time-Designated Use (including Measurement Service)
Type of fee
Per shift*
Beamtime fee + 50% premium
720,000 yen
N.B. Beamtime Fees of CryoTEMs for Regular and Time-Designated Use are 80,000 yen/shift (8 hours) and 120,000 yen/shift (8 hours), respectively.
6.2 Program Fee for Non-Proprietary Priority Proposal
Intended for non-proprietary research projects that have been reviewed and approved for a large research grant, Non-Proprietary Priority Proposals are exempt from scientific review, and only the technical feasibility and the safety of the experiment, the degree of expectation to produce results, the necessity of SPring-8 as a research tool and ethics (e.g. exclusively for peaceful purposes) are reviewed and are available on the payment of program fee.
Type of fee
Per shift*
Program fee for non-proprietary Priority proposal
131,000 yen
N.B. Program Fee of CryoTEMs for Non-Proprietary Priority Proposal is 22,000 yen/shift (8 hours).
6.3 User Fees
Beamline users, including CryoTEM users, are required to pay the fees to cover the costs of 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.
Fixed Fee:
Type of fee
Per shift*
User fee (fixed)
10,720 yen
Variable Fee:
A variable fee will be calculated and added in accordance with the amount of liquid helium actually used.
Important: Although JASRI will support users by covering the user fees for certain types of proposals, there has been no financial support available for non-proprietary beamtime users from foreign organizations, including Budding Researchers Support Proposals, from 2019B term. Please refer to the call for proposals for your eligibility in receiving the support. Click here. for more details about the user fees.
* 1 shift is 8 hours and for any proposals that are allocated by the hour, the fees are charged by the hour.
Note: For research to be considered non-proprietary, users are required to disseminate their research results through refereed journals or equivalent and register the results with the SPring-8 Publications Database within three years from the end of the half-year research term. For details, click here.
[Proprietary Research]
Regular Use
Type of fee
Per shift*
Beamtime fee
480,000 yen
Time-Designated Use
Type of fee
Per shift*
Beamtime fee + Time-Designated Use fee
720,000 yen
N.B. Beamtime Fees of CryoTEMs for regular and time-designated use are 80,000 yen/shift (8 hours) and 120,000 yen/shift (8 hours), respectively.
Measurement Service
This fee will apply if you use the Measurement Service by applying for regular calls, six times a year.
Type of fee
Per shift*
Beamtime fee + Measurement Service fee
720,000 yen
Measurement Service with Time-Designated Use
This fee will apply if you use the Measurement Service, not according to regular calls.
Type of fee
Per shift*
Beamtime fee + Time-Designated Use fee + Measurement Service fee
960,000 yen
6.2 Program Fee for Non-Proprietary Priority Proposal
Non-Proprietary Priority Proposals are exempt from scientific review, and only the technical feasibility and the safety of the experiment and ethics (e.g. exclusively for peaceful purposes) are reviewed and are available on the payment of program fee. For any proposals that are allocated by the hour, the beamtime fee is charged by the hour.
Type of fee
Per shift*
Program fee for non-proprietary Priority proposal
144,000 yen
N.B. Beamtime Fee of CryoTEMs for Non-Proprietary Priority Proposal is 22,000 yen/shift (8 hours).
6.3 Program Fee for Quasi-Proprietary Use
When you apply for the Quasi-Proprietary Use for a Non-Proprietary Priority Proposal, the following fee will be charged in addition to the fee described in 3.2 above (only when approved).
Type of fee
Per shift*
Quasi-Proprietary Use fee
144,000 yen
6.4 User Fees
Public beamline users, including CryoTEM 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 Helium.
Fixed Fee
Type of fee
Per shift*
User fee (fixed)
12,400 yen
Variable Fee
A variable fee will be calculated and added in accordance with the amount of liquid helium / sample preparation service actually used.
* 1 shift is 8 hours and for any proposals that are allocated by the hour, the fees are charged by the hour.
Important: We will cover the costs for Graduate Student Proposals and Long Term Graduate Student Proposals from domestic universities within the budget. Please note that the variable fee is not always covered when it exceeds the limit of the budget.
Click here for more details.
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.
My Page (login required) > account information > Edit My Details & SPRUC Research Groups
*All users, including repeat users, are encouraged to register to SPring-8 Users Community (SPRUC) Research Group.
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.
Log in to My Page with your user card ID number and password. Please note that only the project leaders can submit proposals. 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 around May (for B term) and November (for A term of the following year).
General Proposals, Graduate Student Proposals (including Structural Biology)
Term
Approx. Deadlines
A Term
Early December
B Term
Mid-June
(For Beamlines with sixannual calls) General Proposals, Graduate Student Proposals
Term
Approx. Deadlines
A Term, First period
Early December
A Term, Second period
Early March
A Term, Third period
Late April
B Term, First period
Mid-June
B Term, Second period
Early September
B Term, Third period
Late October
Non-Proprietary Priority Proposals
Term
Approx. Deadlines
A Term
About two weeks before the deadlines for general and other proposals.
B Term
About two weeks before the deadlines for general and other proposals.
Long Term Graduate Student Proposals
Term
Approx. Deadlines
A Term
Around late November
B Term only
Around early May
Urgent Proposals, Proprietary Time-Designated Proposals and Proprietary Measurement Service Proposals
Term
Approx. Deadlines
All year
As needed
9. Important Notes
Radiation Worker Registration The Japanese Law (Ordinance on Prevention of Ionizing Radiation Hazards) requires SPring-8 users, excluding non-visiting users using Measurement Service/PX-BL Automatic Data Collection, to be registered as SPring-8 radiation workers. For details, click here.
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.
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.
General Insurance and Compensation
Users shall take out appropriate personal injury and liability insurance before conducting experiments. If their project teams include students, they shall make sure that all the students take out appropriate personal injury and liability insurance. If users damage SPring-8 facilities, equipment or persons, either willfully or through gross negligence, JASRI may require them to meet all or part of the cost of repairs. JASRI shall take due account of all relevant circumstances in determining the degree of user liability.
Selection of Waitlisted Proposals
From the list of research proposals (General and Graduate Student Proposals) which were rejected for the proposal call in each research term, a waitlist will be made based on the results of the scientific, technical and safety reviews. Project leaders whose research proposals have been selected for the waitlist will be notified in the “Notification of Review Results”, which will be announced online. When beamtime cancellations arise, a proposal from the waitlist will be selected. Selection will be made primarily on scientific values, but factors such as requested bunch modes and numbers of shifts will be also be taken into consideration. The project leader of the selected proposal will be contacted by the Users Office.
