Mass analyzed secondary ion microscopy

This paper reviews and critically assesses progress in the field of surface and near-surface imaging microscopies based on secondary ion mass spectrometry. The ion microscope performs a variety of analytical functions, including complete mass spectra and isotope ratios from areas on the submicron scale, and lateral distribution analysis using ion imaging, with high sensitivity for all elements of the periodic table. Recent developments have improved the ion microscope’s ability to image a specimen’s elemental morphology with spatial resolutions below 100 nm. Criteria for the quantitative evaluation of ion images and the instruments that produce them are reviewed within the framework of information-transmission theory. A complete and general description of the physical principles guiding the types of instrumentation available is thus presented, with emphasis on the accuracy and precision of an analytical measurement. Several directions for future developments are proposed.