High-performance secondary ion mass spectrometer

Abstract

A high-performance research-oriented secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS), based on a double-focusing mass spectrometer, has been designed, constructed, and evaluated. This instrument is relatively free of some of the instrumental limitations associated with conventional molecular SIMS instrumentation such as energy and mass discrimination. Theoretical design considerations and its construction are discussed. Its performance has been evaluated in various operational modes using a variety of samples and some important instrumental parameters are reported. Finally, the novel and outstanding high-mass capability of this SIMS instrument is demonstrated.