Influence of experimental parameters on secondary ion yield for MeV-SIMS

Megaelectronvolt-Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (MeV-SIMS) is an emerging ion beam analysis technique for molecular speciation and submicrometer imaging. Following the construction of different experimental setups a systematic investigation on the dependence of secondary ion yields on experimental parameters is crucial. Without this knowledge, results are hard to interpret as surface roughness, scan size and the position on the sample can influence the secondary ion count and misleading images can be obtained. Additionally, to achieve better reproducibility the optimal experimental conditions need to be well known. In this work, we present the results of investigations into the influence of the main experimental parameters on the secondary ion yield.