Mass spectral analysis and quantification of Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry data

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive method for quantifying Cs-complex ions in SIMS by analyzing mass spectra, constructing linear systems, and employing regularization, leading to improved accuracy over single complex analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic approach combining all possible Cs-complexes for better SIMS quantification, including spectral analysis, linear system construction, and regularization techniques.

Findings

Summation over all Cs-complexes yields better quantification.

Regularization improves solution stability in complex spectra.

Application on steel samples demonstrates method effectiveness.

Abstract

This work highlights the possibility of improving the quantification aspect of Cs-complex ions in SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry), by combining the intensities of all possible Cs-complexes. Identification of all possible Cs-complexes requires quantitative analysis of mass spectrum from the material of interest. The important steps of this mass spectral analysis include constructing fingerprint mass spectra of the constituent species from the table of isotopic abundances of elements, constructing the system(s) of linear equations to get the intensities of those species, solving them, evaluating the solutions and employing a regularization process when required. These steps are comprehensively described and the results of their application on a SIMS mass spectrum obtained from D9 steel are presented. It is demonstrated that results from the summation procedure, which covers entire range of sputtered clusters, is superior to results from single Cs-complex per element. The result of employing a regularization process in solving a mass spectrum from an SS316LN steel specimen is provided to demonstrate the necessity of regularization.