Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry : SIMS

Principle

As ion beam (typically Cs+ or O₂+) is bombarded onto a solid surface, secondary ions are generated as a result of sputtering (a phenomenon in which sample constituent atoms are emitted into a vacuum). The secondary ions are introduced into mass analyzer and then separated ones are detected. Continuous sputtering provides depth profiling of components of the sample including impurities at lower levels owing to its high sensitivity. Detection of residual elements such as hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen could work well although some Furthermore, imaging measurements with micro-scope or micro-probe mode would be useful as the applications.