POWGEN Mail-in Program

Powder Diffractometer

Mail-in slots for cycle 2024-B are now full. New mail-in proposals will be allocated for cycle 2025-A, starting in February.
Because of the Proton Power Upgrade (PPU) project and the resulting increases in beam power and energy, we can now collect more data in a shorter time. Therefore, new mail-in proposals will be limited to 6 hours going forward, which will allow us to accomodate more mail-in proposals.

Proposals are accepted at any time.
A number of days are reserved from the general user program each cycle.
It is expected that samples are ready before the mail-in proposal is submitted.
A maximum of 6 hours can be requested in each cycle.
Temperatures between 10K and 300K can be requested but the total time cannot exceed 6 hours.
Once approved, vanadium sample cans are sent to the users to be filled and returned to the SNS.
Samples should be returned to SNS within two weeks of receiving the empty cans.
Experiments are measured on a first-come, first-served basis.

Make sure your samples are ready.
Prepare your proposal, using the template provided below. You are limited to a total collection time of 6 hours and a temperature range of 10-300 K. Please contact instrument staff if you have any questions.
Submit your proposal through IPTS. Be sure to select Mail-In as the proposal type. Mail-in proposals are accepted at any time, independent of the semi-annual general user proposal call.
If your proposal is accepted, you will receive an email with additional information, and empty sample cans will be sent to the address you specified in the proposal.
Load your sample cans, according to the instructions linked below, and fill out the sample loading spreadsheet in IPTS.
Ship the loaded samples back to the address listed on the Shipping Guidance page.
Your samples will be measured at the first available opportunity, on a first-come, first-served basis.
You will receive an email when data collection is complete. Follow the directions and linked guides on the Powgen User Guidance page to download and analyze your data.
All publications resulting from your Powgen data must include the SNS acknowledgement and should be submitted to the PuSH publication tracking system.
After 30 days, your samples will either be wasted or shipped back to you, based on what you requested in the proposal.