SoftiMAX has two branches, offering different techniques. For specific details of the two endstations and their sample mounting, please see information under ‘Experimental station‘
| STXM | CXI | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy range | 275 – 2500 eV | 275 – 2100 eV |
| E/dE resolving power | 5000 – 12000 | 5000 – 12000 |
| Spot size | 22 – 60 nm | 8 – 20 micron^2 |
| Techniques | STXM Ptychography | CXI XPCS Holography |
X-rays at SoftiMAX come in flavours linear horizontal (full range), vertical & circular (275-1600 eV) and inclined mode (420-1500 eV)
Access modes
SoftiMAX participates in the Standard Access call (twice per year, in Sep & Feb) for experiments from 2-6 days (12-36 shifts), both branches. The next call is for Spring 2026, and submission is open from Wed Sep 10 to Wed Sep 24 (14:00 CET) 2025. Start with creating a DUO account if you don’t have one yet. Read more about the Standard Access calls here.
We also offer Fast Access on the STXM branch. This short experiment typically involves STXM, 1 or 2 samples and a single absorption edge. The allocated time is 1 day (6 shifts). The aim can be to get preliminary information for a regular proposal or test whether STXM works for your specific sample and/or sample preparation (choose Sample Feasibility). Fast Access can also be used to complete an existing data set or add a ‘single’ STXM/ptycho image to a nearly finished article or PhD thesis (choose Scientific Experiment when submitting). We do not offer Standard Mesurement Service at SoftiMAX. For details and a template for Fast Access, click here.
In the Autumn 2026 call (open in Feb 2026) SoftiMAX will also participate in the Long Term Proposal (LTP) call. As this is linked to strategic development of the beamline, any idea for a proposal must be discussed with the beamline staff. Read more about LTPs here.
Finally, SoftiMAX participates in RIANA, a Horizon Europe funded project which supports research in nanoscience & nanotechnology. It comes with transnational access support and is accessible for both academics and industry.
Support facilities and other periphery
SoftiMAX has a very good optical microscope (Leica) with many contrast methods, including fluorescence (GFP, TXR), as well as a Nikon stereo microscope for sample mounting. If you need gases, chemicals, liquid nitrogen/helium, etc. make sure to discuss this with your beamline contact as soon as you are scheduled. Nitrogen gas, milli-Q water and ethanol are readily available but anything else may need to be ordered and/or discussed from a safety point of view, in good time.
Sample slicing for bio/environmental samples using a (cryo)ultratome is also available, with a designated operator. If this is needed for your project, discuss this with your beamline contact, briefly, at the proposal stage and for actual planning as soon as your experiment has been scheduled.
MAX IV also hosts Offline Labs: MjolnIR – for sub-micron IR microscopy (AFM-IR & O-PTIR); a UHV STM/AFM; and a SEM/EDX, which can be combined with measurements at SoftiMAX – ask your beamline contact! On the same page you will also find information on the Chem, Bio, and Prep-labs around the ring. The Soft X-ray chemistry lab is the closest to SoftiMAX.
Experimental data – file format & download
Data can be downloaded either using Globus, or via normal sftp. Read more on how to do this here.
SoftiMAX typically produces data as compressed hdf5 files, a binary file type which stores data in a tree-like hierarchy. We have one main file collected per scan performed, which also contains a snapshot of beamline parameters at the start of the scan. Using freely available viewing tools, these files can be viewed and explored. Heavier data (like 2D images in ptycho scans) are stored in separate detector files to allow more efficient data acquisition, the main file links to these data and provides a unified way of accessing the data, provided that the detector files can be found in the same folder.
At the beamline we have data analysis tools available, like PtyPy and PtychoShelves, as well as Axis2000 and Mantis for STXM. For XMCD we also have Python scripts for quick analysis (Jupyter notebooks).
Acknowledgements
When publishing any material arising from work carried out at MAX IV, do not forget to acknowledge MAX IV and our funders. This obligation applies to both infrastructure personnel and researchers using the infrastructure. Read more on how and why here.