Available
ToF-SIMS rasters a pulsed ion beam across an area to produce atomic, molecular, and fragment ions characteristic of the surface and near-surface region. This technique has low detection limits (low parts per million to high parts per billion for atomic species; as low as a femtomole for molecular species), excellent surface sensitivity (information depth is about 2 nanometers), and an extremely high mass resolution. While results are typically semi-quantitative, it can provide valuable insight into subtle chemical variations between similar samples.
Capabilities
- βIdentifying the elemental composition and the chemical status near the surface (around 5 angstrom) with high sensitivity (~1ppm) and high mass resolution (~9000)
- βDistinguishing the different isotopes of the same element
- βImaging the topography of surface using the secondary electrons
- βUltra-thin depth profiling
- βIdentification of trace-level contaminants
- β25 keV Bi cluster ion source
- βYields a mass spectrum of the outermost 2 nm of a surface
- βIdentifies structural units present at the surface (e.g., monomeric components and repeat units)
- βProvides fingerprint identification of polymers
- βInformation on surface degradation and contamination
- βSpatial imaging of surface chemistry with a full mass spectrum from every pixel of an image
- βHigh mass resolution (m/Ξm > 5000) and analytical sensitivity (down to high ppb)
- βSeveral thousand angstrom destructive elemental depth profiles possible with oxygen or cesium ion sputtering
