An ultra‐high resolution beamline is being constructed at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) for the study of low energy excitations in strongly correlated systems with the use of high‐resolution inelastic scattering and angle‐resolved photoemission. This new beamline, given the acronym Merlin (for meV resolution line), will cover the energy range 10–150 eV. The monochromator has fixed entrance and exit slits and a plane mirror that can illuminate a spherical grating at the required angle of incidence (as in the SX‐700 mechanism). The monochromator can be operated in two different modes. In the highest resolution mode, the energy scanning requires translating the monochromator chamber (total travel 1.1 m) as well as rotating the grating and the plane mirror in front of the grating. The resolution in this mode is practically determined by the slits width. In the second mode, the scanning requires rotating the grating and the plane mirror. This mode can be used to scan a few eV without a significant resolution...