Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS)

The new Hybrid SIMS enables surface characterisation with OrbiTrap mass resolution

ToF-SIMS at a glance

Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is a highly sensitive analytical technique that describes the chemical composition and distribution of a sample surface. It uses a range of incident ion sources to impact on solid surfaces and generate secondary ions that can be analysed by a time of flight (or Orbitrap) mass spectrometer to determine the surface chemistry of that surface or layer.

Applications

Surface Spectrometry
Surface Chemical Imaging
Depth Profiling

ToF-SIMS analysis uses specialised ion beams in an ultra high vacuum system

How does ToF-SIMS work?

ToF-SIMS uses a pulsed primary ion beam (Bi_n+, Cs+, Ar+, etc.) to impact on a sample surface and induce a fragmentation cascade. The result is the desorption of neutrals, secondary ions (+/-) and electrons from the first few monolayers of the sample. The secondary ions can then be accelerated into a "flight tube" and their mass is determined by measuring the exact time at which they reach the detector (i.e. time-of-flight).

A single secondary ion mass spectrum can be used to describe the constituents of one point on a surface. Alternatively if the incident beam is rastered across several points within a given surface area, it is possible to build a chemical image map of that surface. Using incident ions such as Cs+, Ar_n+ C60+ in a dual beam approach it is also possible to sputter through the top layers of the inorganic or organic surfaces respectively while monitoring the incidence profile of elemental or molecular species (i.e. depth profiling).

ISAC ToF-SIMS facilites offer multiple ion sources and operational modes to suit the desired application

A look inside the chamber of the Ion-TOF IV

Understanding surface and interface science. Making our expertise count.

Our ToF-SIMS facilities

ION-TOF (GmBH) ToF SIMS V

ION-TOF (GmBH) Hybrid SIMS ("3D-OrbiSIMS")

Publications of interest - ToF-SIMS

A Reactive Prodrug Ink Formulation Strategy for Inkjet 3D Printing of Controlled Release Dosage Forms and Implants, He, Y., Foralosso, R., Trindade, G. F., Ilchev, A., Ruiz-Cantu, L., Clark, E. A., Khaled, S., Hague, R. J. M., Tuck, C. J., Rose, F. R. A. J., Mantovani, G., Irvine, D. J., Roberts, C. J. & Wildman, R. D., Advanced Therapeutics, 3, 1900187 (2020).
High sensitivity analysis of nanogram quantities of glycosaminoglycans using ToF-SIMS, Hook, A. L., Hogwood, J., Gray, E., Mulloy, B. & Merry, C. L. R., Communications Chemistry, 4, 67 (2021).
Residual polymer stabiliser causes anisotropic electrical conductivity during inkjet printing of metal nanoparticles, Wang, F., Im, J., He, Y., Balogh, A., Scurr, D., Gilmore, I., Tiddia, M., Saleh, E., Pervan, D., Turyanska, L., Tuck, C. J., Wildman, R., Hague, R. & Roberts, C. J., Communications Materials, 2, 47 (2021).
Imaging mass spectrometry of fingermarks on brass bullet casings using sample rotation, Lee C. J., Scurr, D. J., Jiang, L., Kenton, A., Beebe, S. R. T. & Sharp, J. S., Analyst, 146, 7563–7572 (2021).
A new particle mounting method for surface analysis, Dundas, A., Kern, S., Cuzzucoli Crucitti, V., Scurr, D. J., Wildman, R., Irvine, D. J. & Alexander, M. R., Surface and Interface Analysis, 54, 374–380 (2022).
The influence of printing parameters on multi-material two-photon polymerisation based micro additive manufacturing, Hu, Q., Rance, G. A., Trindade, G. F., Pervan, D., Jiang, L., Foerster, A., Turyanska, L., Tuck, C., Irvine, D. J., Hague, R. & Wildman, R. D., Additive Manufacturing, 51, 102575 (2022).

Publications of interest - 3D OrbiSIMS

Protein identification by 3D OrbiSIMS to facilitate in situ imaging and depth profiling, Kotowska, A. M., Trindade, G. F., Mendes, P. M., Williams, P. M., Aylott, J. W., Shard, A. G., Alexander, M. R. & Scurr, D. J. Nature Communications,11, 5832 (2020).
Spatially Resolved Molecular Compositions of Insoluble Multilayer Deposits Responsible for Increased Pollution from Internal Combustion Engines, Edney, M., Lamb, J., Spanu, M., Smith, E., Steer, E., Wilmot, E., Reid, J., Barker, J., Alexander, M., Snape, C. & Scurr, D., ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces,12, 51026–51035 (2020).
Cryo-OrbiSIMS for 3D Molecular Imaging of a Bacterial Biofilm in Its Native State, Zhang, J., Brown, J., Scurr, D. J., Bullen, A., MacLellan-Gibson, K., Williams, P., Alexander, M. R., Hardie, K. R., Gilmore, I. S. & Rakowska, P. D., Analytical Chemistry,92, 9008–9015 (2020).
Sequential Orbitrap Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry and Liquid Extraction Surface Analysis-Tandem Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolomics for Prediction of Brain Tumor Relapse from Sample-Limited Primary Tissue Archives, Meurs, J., Scurr, D. J., Lourdusamy, A., Storer, L. C. D., Grundy, R. G., Alexander, M. R., Rahman, R. & Kim, D.-H., Analytical Chemistry, 93, 6947–6954 (2021).
Molecular Formula Prediction for Chemical Filtering of 3D OrbiSIMS Datasets, Edney, M. K., Kotowska, A. M., Spanu, M., Trindade, G. F., Wilmot, E., Reid, J., Barker, J., Aylott, J. W., Shard, A. G., Alexander, M. R., Snape, C. E. & Scurr, D. J., Analytical Chemistry, 94, 4703–4711 (2022).
Elucidating the molecular landscape of the stratum corneum, Starr, N. J., Khan, M. H., Edney, M. K., Trindade, G. F., Kern, S., Pirkl, A., Kleine-Boymann, M., Elms, C., O’Mahony, M. M., Bell, M., Alexander, M. R. & Scurr, D. J., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119, e2114380119 (2022).