Policies

Facility policy
User training policy
Billing policy
Reservation & charge policy
Safety agreement

Facility policy

Yale West Campus Materials Characterization Core (MCC) is a user-friendly working place which welcomes all users from Yale, other educational organizations, and industry.

• Core facility access is authorized by core manager ONLY after user training. Serious violations, such as allowing other people to use the facility, will lead to user account suspension and charge to user’s account for any facility repair.
• Users must report facility or tool problem immediately to the core. DO NOT try to fix by yourself! 
• Always keep the core main entrance door closed.
• No food or drink allowed inside the core.
• Expensive personal items should not be brought into the core. The core is not responsible for the loss of personal property.
• Users agree that results obtained using core facilities can be used for educational purposes and facility promotion.
  • The core needs to be properly acknowledged in users' reports, presentations and publications.
  • Core staff need to be acknowledged if technical assistance is provided.
  • Users should inform the core about any publications and provide a PDF.
  • Users should inform the core about any significant results or breakthroughs, which may be posted on the core's website.

User training policy

• All users must receive core operation training in order to gain access to the core and reservation system.  Only the core manager can train users.
• The MCC onsite core operation training is offered for basic operations. Advanced training is required for specialized techniques (e.g. XPS depth profiling, UPS, and SEM EDS). 
• Users who have not used the core for more than two months will be suspended for training again (two practice sessions within one week).
• Monthly based users are not encouraged to use the core by themselves. Instead, they should look for superusers in their own lab to run the samples. 

Billing policy

• Users are responsible for keeping their Yale COA account updated to avoid account suspension.
• For billing, see Rates.

Reservation & charge policy

• User charges are calculated on real usage time on the instrument.
• No cancellation charges. It is strongly recommended to cancel early so other users will have time to prepare for canceled time.
• 15 minutes no-show time. This means your reservation will be canceled automatically 15 minutes after the reserved time and other users will be informed they can take the canceled time. 
• It is strongly prohibited to make repeated/multiple reservations per day unless required. This will be investigated case-by-case and restrictions such as maximum time per day may be applied to specific users.
• User category:
  • Daytime users: Reservations are currently limited to 9 AM–6 PM on weekdays.
  • 24-hour access users: No limitations on their reservations.
  • Regular hour access users can request 24-hour access upon approval by the core manager.
• Users are not allowed to use other users' accounts, or their accounts will be suspended.

Safety agreement

• Prior to core operation training, all registered users must have received Yale EH&S Chemical Safety Training and Radiation Safety Basics Part I (XRD and XRF users only). Users need to bring the X-Ray Training Sign-Off Sheet received after Radiation Safety Basics Part I training to the core to complete onsite radiation training.
• All users and visitors to the core must practice safe measures. This means that there is no running or similar activities in any core space. Chemicals, whether obtained within the lab or brought from outside must be properly labeled, contained, and disposed of. Gloves must be worn when handling samples, chemicals, and instrumentation.