Contamination with Silicone

The positive secondary ion spectra below are from an aluminium foil before and after contact with a protective glove. A residue of PDMS from the glove manufacture has transferred to the foil and is clearly visible from the characteristic silicone peaks at m/z = 59, 73 and 147. The aluminium signal itself at m/z = 27 is also significantly attenuated by the coverage of contaminant.

Positive ion Static SIMS of clean aluminium foil before touching with
contaminated glove 

Positive Static SIMS of aluminium foil after contact with contaminated glove

Dynamic SIMS

Depth Profiling

When the ion dose exceeds the static SIMS limit (>10¹² ions cm^-2) there is sufficient sputtering to uncover deeper layers of the material. This allows the composition to be determined as a function of depth. SIMS depth profiles are most often used to verify layer deposition and investigate diffusion or the effects of surface chemistry, such as corrosion. The extreme sensitivity and excellent depth resolution of SIMS made the analysis of dopant profiles in semiconductors a natural early application of the technique. These pure materials formed the groundwork for robust quantification and today SIMS finds application across a broad range of industries.

Depth Resolution

In the static SIMS case the depth resolution is the uppermost atomic monolayers. In dynamic SIMS, the depth resolution is improved by reducing the impact energy, and therefore the penetration and mixing caused by the bombarding ions such that nanometre features can be resolved.

Positive ion SIMS depth profi le of a Si/Fe neutron mirror comprising 80 pairs of silicon and iron layers, each layer 1.8nm thick. Analysed using 1.5keV O₂⁺ primary ions with oxygen flooding.