Quantitative secondary ion mass spectrometry: A review

Quantitative analysis in general aims at determining the value of a selected physical or chemical property of a given sample. With SIMS, in particular, the parameters to be determined are the concentration of a given element and also its distribution, both in depth and along the surface. Every measurement is affected by a given overall uncertainty due to statistical fluctuations in the measured signal and to systematic errors related to the experimental conditions. A discussion is devoted to the experimental conditions which influence the reproducibility of the measured signal and give rise to systematic errors, e.g. charging effects, matrix effects, selective sputtering and mass‐dependent transmission, etc. The various methods used to derive the desired elemental concentration and its distribution in the sample from the raw measured data are evaluated, namely the use of calibration curves, relative sensitivity factors, fitting parameter methods and first‐principle methods. Finally, the question is considered of how representative is the value determined from the (usually small) volume with respect to the composition of the bulk of the sample (sampling error).