Guidelines

THE WORKFLOW TO GET ACCESS TO NFFA­­­-TRIESTE NANOSCIENCE LABORATORY

NFFA-Trieste open access facility accepts proposals requiring the integrated use of the offered scientific techniques for nanoscience projects that cover from synthesis and growth to fine analysis.

NFFA-Trieste complies with European Charter for Access to Research Infrastructures.

Proposal

The user navigates through the various techniques in the catalogue on this website and adds the needed ones to the wishlist. Then the user can submit his proposal application. The scientific proposal will have to address the central research problem, the significance of the project and the methods needed, using NFFA-Trieste proposal form template.

The acceptable proposals must involve the use of at least two different types of scientific techniques. Projects that only require the use of one single scientific technique are not eligible as NFFA-Trieste proposals.

PLEASE NOTE: NFFA-Trieste proposals are not an alternative way to apply to APE and SISSI beamlines of Elettra storage ring: the regular access for Synchrotron Radiation work is regulated via the Elettra Proposal Submission system, offering the same quality of sample environment as offered by NFFA-Trieste, but not the complementary laboratory for Growth and Characterization.

Evaluation and scheduling

The proposal first undergoes a feasibility and consistency check by our scientific staff and is subsequently peer-reviewed by international experts.

If the proposal is accepted, all user team members are asked to accept and under-sign NFFA-Trieste User Access Policy. NFFA-Trieste does not schedule any research activity before signed forms from all participants are received.
Access terms and time are then agreed with the proponents of accepted proposals.

The main proposer must fill NFFA-Trieste User datasheet with information about user team members and samples, then all team members have to register to Elettra Virtual Unified Office (guide) and proceed access request (guide).

Support

Partial support for user’s mobility is available through funding provided from NFFA-Trieste.
A maximum of 2 users per accepted proposal can be supported. All the information are available in NFFA-Trieste travel and reimbursement policy.
Travel tickets and accommodation must be booked through Elettra - Sincrotrone Trieste Travel Office (usertravels@elettra.eu).
After the experiment, if there are expenses to claim, the funded users have to fill in the online reimbursement form available in Elettra Virtual Unified Office (VUO), in the section “Access Travel and Expenses Reimbursement”. In case of paper receipts, the original documents must be sent by insured mail or brought in person to Elettra - Sincrotrone Trieste Users' Office (useroffice@elettra.eu​).

Measurements

The experimental data collected during the access are safely shared by our scientific staff to the users through NFFA Datashare, a file sharing and collaboration platform hosted on our local server at CNR-IOM. Therefore, the data are retrievable at any time and across any device.
For more information, see NFFA Datashare section.

Report

At the end of the access sessions, users are requested by the NFFA-Trieste management to fill in the NFFA-Trieste Satisfaction Questionnaire and the NFFA-Trieste User Report. Failing to report on access will jeopardize any further access request or proposal.