A new method to eliminate the influence of in situ contamination in SIMS analysis of hydrogen

A new method has been developed that allows us to eliminate the influence of hydrogen contamination/background in SIMS analyses. The method is based on a number of measurements with different primary beam currents and a simple model for the sputtering of adsorbed hydrogen stemming from in situ contamination. Applying the contamination model to the data yields information about the degree of in situ contamination and about the relative intensity of H ions originating from the sample (e.g., H:Si ratio). The new method’s advantage is that no other time-consuming (such as special sample preparation and storage) or complicated and expensive (e.g., machine vacuum) measures to eliminate surface contamination are needed.