Secondary ion mass spectrometry: SIMS and ToF-SIMS Analytical procedures and performances

This article presents an overview of the analytical procedures used in SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry), depending on the intended application, as well as a number of applications, particularly in the industrial field. The fact that secondary ion emission from solid materials cannot be described quantitatively by a complete theory, the diversity of possible analytical applications, and the existence of artifacts specific to each procedure or each category of material make it impossible to state universal procedures. Recent developments in time-of-flight equipment (ToF-SIMS) and two- and three-dimensional imaging means that procedures must be adapted to the type of result sought. This is why the plan adopted here follows a logic based on an increasingly complete application of the method. For each category of analysis and/or equipment, the desired performance, foreseeable limitations and best procedures are summarized and illustrated by concrete examples. The order adopted is from the simplest to the most complex, starting with simple qualitative mass spectrometry and then moving on to the more elaborate procedures of quantitative analysis, extreme surface analysis, in-depth analytical profiling, isotopic analysis, application to phase analysis, and ending with a section devoted to the developments in imaging and three-dimensional analysis made possible by the most recent technical developments. The performances and methods described for one procedure are almost all to be taken into account for the procedures described thereafter.

This article is a follow-up to [P 2 618] "Secondary ion mass spectrometry: SIMS and ToF-SIMS. Principles and equipment".