Magnetic Sector Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry on FIB-SEM Instruments for Nanoscale Chemical Imaging

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Life Sciences
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Nanoscale structural, morphological, and chemical characterization is crucial across many scientific disciplines.
• 3D nanoscale analysis requires advanced instrumentation.
• Existing focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) instruments are widely used for nanoscale investigations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To deploy magnetic sector secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) on FIB-SEM instruments.
• To characterize the performance of the integrated FIB-SEM-SIMS system.
• To demonstrate the system's capabilities in various scientific applications.

Main Methods:

• Integration of magnetic sector SIMS with a FIB-SEM system.
• Performance evaluation using test samples, measuring ion beam transmission, mass resolving power, mass range, lateral resolution, and depth resolution.
• Application of the system for depth profiling, 2D, and 3D chemical imaging.

Main Results:

• Achieved >40% secondary ion beam transmission.
• Obtained a mass resolving power (M/ΔM) > 400.
• Demonstrated lateral resolution of 15 nm and depth resolution of ~4 nm.
• Successfully applied to battery research, photovoltaics, multilayered samples, and life sciences.

Conclusions:

• The FIB-SEM-SIMS system provides high-performance nanoscale chemical characterization.
• The system enables versatile correlative studies in materials science and life sciences.
• This integrated approach addresses the need for advanced 3D nanoscale analytical solutions.