Dynamic SIMS provides localized elemental and isotopic characterization of a sample over depths ranging from nanometers to tens of micrometers.

First commercialized by CAMECA in the early 1960s, SIMS involves bombarding the surface of a sample with a focused ion beam and collecting the ejected secondary ions that are representative of the sample surface composition. SIMS consists of analyzing these secondary ions with a mass spectrometer.

Still the most sensitive surface analysis technique available, SIMS provides localized elemental, isotopic, and molecular characterization of the sample surface. It can be applied to any solid material that can be maintained under high vacuum, including insulators, semiconductors, metals, and even biological samples.

Our new Essential Knowledge Brief (EKB), Dynamic Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, provides a detailed overview of dynamic SIMS, relating the functions of the technique and describing its advantages over other research methodologies.

Co-edited with Wiley, this tutorial explores different technological developments made possible through SIMS, and offers more efficient analytical solutions for a wider range of samples. Four case studies included in the EKB detail these analytical techniques in areas ranging from life sciences to materials and cosmochemistry.

Table of contents :

Introduction
- History and Background
- In Practice
- Case Study 1: Seeing is Believing
- Case Study 2: Synthesizing Semiconductor Crystals
- Case Study 3: Measuring Hydrogen on the Moon and Mars
- Case Study 4: Self-Focusing SIMS
- Problems and Solutions
- What’s next?

This short guide is available in pdf as well mobile-enabled formats.

Download the EKB today!