ELECTRONIC MICROSCOPY PRODUCTS
TOF-SIMS microscopes
Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) is a highly sensitive analytical technique that provides chemical characterization of material surfaces. This is achieved using a focused ion beam at typical energies of 10-30 keV, which impinges on the surface of the sample and as a result secondary ions (SI) are emitted from the upper atomic layers of the sample.
The interaction volume generated by the ions is on the order of a few nanometers, which is much smaller than that generated by an electron beam, typically on the order of a few microns. As a result, TOF-SIMS can achieve better lateral and depth resolution compared to other common chemical analytical SEM techniques such as EDX.)
TOF-SIMS provides characterization of material surfaces through mass spectra, depth profiles, and elemental/molecular maps. Mass spectra allow the identification and quantification of elements and molecular species present in the surface layers of the sample, as well as the distinction of isotopes and species with similar nominal mass.
Depth profiling, an advantageous capability of this technique, is used to detect traces of dopants and other impurities at different depth ranges. Light elements such as Be, B and Li can be detected at very low concentrations of a few ppm.
Furthermore, 3D chemical characterization with high mass resolution and high spatial image resolution is also possible. TOF-SIMS is the ideal characterization technique for science and technology fields where the composition of surfaces, thin films or layers plays an essential role in performance.
In particular, TOF-SIMS has proven to be a powerful analytical technique for the battery manufacturing industry. Although techniques based on X-ray analysis do not detect Li, the light element detection capability offered by TOF-SIMS makes it an ideal technique for conducting research into lithium-ion-based batteries.
The TESCAN solution for secondary ion mass spectrometry is based on the integration of an orthogonal TOF-SIMS analyzer with TESCAN FIB-SEM systems. Such a combination allows the creation of in situ FIB depth profiles with high mass resolution and high spatial resolution images. This superior performance provides the user with 3D chemical characterization and molecular information of solid materials.
TESCAN TOF-SIMS solutions
TESCAN AMBER 2
Versatile nanoanalytical FIB-SEM to expand your materials research capabilities.
