Prospects of Cluster Secondary Ion Mass spectrometry

-Development of Electrospray Droplet Impact- Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer-

Abstract

  Time of flight type secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) equipped with the cluster ion source such as SF⁵⁺, Au³⁺, C₆₀⁺ as primary ion has been put to practical use in the last decade. Cluster ion beam has advantage of high sputtering yield and high secondary ionization yield without introducing severe damage on material surfaces. Substantial enhancement of secondary ion yield for bio-molecules is strongly demanded, and consequently, use of giant cluster ions for SIMS is attracted very recently. In this paper, the development of SIMS with the giant cluster ions (water droplet cluster) is reported.