Submission Guidelines for Users' Reports of the Photon Factory Activity Report 2024

July 1, 2024
Naohiro Matsugaki (editor in chief)

1. Introduction

The Photon Factory at the Institute of Materials Structure Science publishes the Photon Factory Activity Report (PFACR) annually that summarizes all scientific activities performed at the facility. Users' reports of PFACR is a collection of reports from users who conducted experiments at the Photon Factory. Every principal investigator needs to submit, in principle, at least one user report per research program. If you have already submitted your report to a past volume of PFACR, you do not need to submit a new report. However, we welcome new reports if you have new results concerning your research program.

We are now receiving users' reports for FY2024 (from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025). Since the analysis and interpretation of experimental results often requires a considerable amount of time after the experiments have been completed, the above-mentioned time period need not be strictly adhered to. Your contribution is greatly appreciated as valuable support for the scientific activities of the Photon Factory.

We look forward to receiving your report.

Note: PFACR consisted of two parts: Part A, "Highlights and Facility Report" and Part B, "Users’ Reports" until 2014. However, Part A will be renewed as the new booklet, "PF Highlights" from 2015. As for Part B, there is no change and user reports will be edited as before.

2. Submission Guidelines

2-1. Deadline

We accept users' reports throughout the year. Please submit your report as soon as it is ready.
Deadline for manuscript submissions: June 30, 2025(JST)
Any reports submitted after the deadline will be published in the next volume.

2-2. How to Prepare Your Manuscript

Please use the "Users' report template" (MS-Word) and follow the instructions below.

Acr2024 template 　　　 Take note

1) Do not change the page style of the template. A PDF file should be created for submission.
2) Color figures are recommended.
3) The beamline used and the proposal number should be typed at the top right-hand corner of the manuscript.
4) The first name and family name of each author should be spelled out in full.
5) An e-mail address of the contact person should be given at the end of the report (after the references).
6) Reports must be no longer than six pages.
7) In converting the manuscript from DOC (MS-Word) format to PDF format, ensure that fonts are embedded in the PDF file.

2-3. How to Submit Your Manuscript

Upload the PDF file of your report to our website. The user ID is "acr2024" and the password is "pf". We only accept PDF files.
If you have any problem, please contact the editorial board.

STEP1 (Fig. 1)

Enter the e-mail address of the corresponding author correctly, and click the create a new folder button.

Fig. 1 Submission Process STEP 1

STEP2 (Fig. 2)

Fill out the form keeping in mind the following instructions.

1) First Author (English): Capitalize the first letter of the given name and all letters of the family name.
2) Corresponding Author (English): Capitalize the first letter of the given name and all letters of the family name.
3) Beamlines: Write the beamline that was mainly used at the top.
4) Registered files: Check if the selected file is displayed correctly. We only accept PDF files.
5) Check that there is no mismatch between the input information (title, beamline, proposal number etc.) and that written in the user report.

After filling out the form, click the submit button.

Fig. 2 Submission process STEP 2

STEP 3 (Fig. 3)

The input information will be displayed first. Note that submission is NOT complete at this stage. You will need to click the confirm button.

Fig. 3 Submission process STEP 3

Submission Complete

After submission, an e-mail will be automatically sent to the corresponding author. If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail within a few hours, please contact the editorial board.

2-4. After Manuscript Submission

Your manuscript will be published on our website after a quick check by our staff. If there are any problems with the manuscript, we will ask you to revise your manuscript. Note that it usually takes several days or several weeks for your manuscript to be uploaded to our website.

3. Related Links

4. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. For my research program, which is valid for several years, should I submit a user report every year?
A. You do not need to submit a user report every year. Only one user report is mandatory for each research program.

Q. For my research program, which expired several years ago, should I submit a user report?
A. For research programs that expired within the three previous years without submission of a user report, please consider submitting a user report. We will also receive users' reports of research programs that expired more than three years ago if there are any rational reasons.

Q. I was not assigned any beamtime. Should I submit a user report?
A. If for some reason you were not able to conduct your experiment at the Photon Factory, please submit a brief report of the program instead of a user report.

Q. My experiment turned out to be a failure. Should I submit a user report?
A. Even if your experiment was not successful, please submit a user report. Your failure report might result in improvements in the experimental environment or might be helpful for other researchers who are planning similar experiments.

Q. I am preparing for a paper. May I submit my user report after the publication of my paper?
A. Please submit your user report as soon as possible after the publication of your paper.

Q. I am preparing for an application for a patent. May I submit my user report after I obtain the patent?
A. Please submit your user report as soon as possible after obtaining a patent.

Photon Factory Activity Report Editorial Board

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