Users fees

CIME facility user fees

The new cost accounting methodology make the operational costs transparent and auditable. The new utilisation costs are entirely eligible to research funding bodies (e.g. SNF, H2020), and are re-evaluated on a regularly basis.
In collaboration with the VPR and CIME Executive Committee, CIME has implemented the utilization and service fees as listed in the table below.
Updated users fees for 2021 (reduced number of equipment classes).

Operational Cost Analysis 2020: Analyse De Coûts CIME V2020

  • No flat-rate services (training or service etc.), every hour will be accounted for.
  • No special rates for night or weekend use (to be auditable).
  • Differentiation between self-use (trained user independent use of equipment) and “Full-Service” (operator assisted: equipment operated by CIME staff).
  • In “Full-Service” the machine time will be billed as in self-use and the operator (CIME staff) time will be added. These costs are eligible for reimbursement through the funding agencies.
  • The CIME equipment has been grouped into classes of instruments (see table).
  • Specimen preparation done by CIME staff for materials science will be billed as Full-Service.

Introduction to SEM and TEM will be billed on a hourly basis. Although it will be fully operator assisted (like Full-Service) the operator hours will not be added to the bill, and in “bulk trainings” (small groups for the very basic introduction) the time (and cost) will be split evenly between the participants.

Advanced techniques training (for example EDXS, special detectors, charge compensation, EELS, tomography etc.) and transition to another equipment will be billed like Full-Service.

Training and Services in the framework of semester projects (SEM only) and master projects (SEM and TEM) will be billed on machine time basis (no operator costs). At the end of the project a reimbursement (subsidy) of the paid bills up to the following limits can be claimed by the lab:

Master thesis: max. 4000.- Fr.

Master project (1 day per week): max. 1000.- Fr.

Bachelor semester project (4h/week): max. 500.- Fr. 

The new cost structure makes the platform cost eligible for third party funding. Please feelfree to contact the CIME for help and advice when putting electron microscopy work in a grant application.

Table of user fees from 1st January 2021
these are internal user fees
for services and collaborations with academic institutions in Switzerland a 20% overhead will be applied
for international institutions we have to apply an overhead of 60%

Equipment class

Equipment

hourly fee
self-use

Full-Service
with CIME operator

high-end TEM Titan Themis 105 Fr./h 178 Fr./h
Advanced TEM Talos-S, Osiris, JEOL 2200FS, TF-20, Spectra 200 (2024 fee) 61 Fr. /h  134 Fr./h
Basic TEM Spirit G2, Bio-Spirit, Bio-Talos 47 Fr./h 120 Fr./h
SEM / FIB all SEM and FIB
CL and TriView
30 Fr./h 103 Fr./h
Sample Preparation Preparation Equipment 73 Fr./h  
Scientific Service Data Processing/Analysis 73 Fr./h  
  • Specimen preparation Life-Science: See with Bio-EM for details

Since January 1st 2018 the billing is on a monthly basis.

If you have any questions on the new billing format, please contact Marco Cantoni