Concept information
Preferred term
ION MICROPROBES
Definition
- Ion microprobes have been around in various forms for many years. It was not until the mid 70's that the ion probe was viewed as having the potential to be the geologist's ultimate weapon. The ion probe uses a focused beam of primary ions to sputter away the sample surface. A small fraction of the sputtered material is ionized and can then be accelerated into a mass spectrometer. A characteristic of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a plethora of atomic and molecular species which often cause isobaric interferences. The first ion microprobes relied on low mass resolution mass spectrometers and tried to strip away interferences by monitoring other peaks containing the interfering elements. This method is fraught with difficulty because it relies on the correct identification of all potential interferences. The first SIMS instrument capable of high mass resolution was the Cameca ims-3f. This instrument works as an ion microscope, that is, a direct image of the spatial distribution of the isotopes in the target can be obtained. High mass resolving power could only be achieved on this instrument at the expense of beam transmission - entrance and exit slits had to be very narrow thereby reducing the amount of beam transmission. [Source: Stanford University.] (en)
Broader concept
- Probes (en)
URI
https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/kms/concept/9a0c4ba6-bce4-4f00-8b00-6940a4651e18
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