The JU National Synchrotron Radiation Centre SOLARIS provides foreign users with the opportunity to perform remote measurements at the UARPES beamline, with the help of the synchrotron staff. These new solutions have recently been tested by Chinese users.
“Remote experiments using the Synchrotron have been possible thanks to the efforts of the Department of the Control Systems and IT, which has configured the beamline’s software and enabled remote access to the device for research groups from all over the world. The greatest challenge has been to integrate the end station’s software with the control system and implement the algorithms automating the work of selected beamline elements,” said Ireneusz Zadworny, coordinator of the Control Systems and Software unit.
The remote measurements can be carried out by users who have already received the beam time at the facility. They need to contact the beamline supervisor and check if the measurements are possible to be carried out remotely. Then, a properly secured sample needs to be sent to SOLARIS. The user will receive his or her individual login and password to individually sign in to the end station used to carry out the experiment. The results will be then available for download to the user’s hard drive.
“Remote access to the UARPES beamline was already possible before the SARS-CoV2 pandemic, which facilitated the work of both researchers and beamline operators. Recently, this automatization has been significantly improved and developed. The available beamline software is intuitive and easy to use. Besides, during the time of the pandemic, it allows us to conduct research and support our users without or with only minimum direct contact with them, which is important during the pandemic,” explains the UARPES beamline supervisor, Dr Natalia Olszowska.
Remote access to other beamlines and the cryo-electron microscope is also possible. The details are available at: synchrotron.uj.edu.pl.
