Routine TOF‐SIMS instrument control using polycarbonate material

We suggest the use of polycarbonate as reference material for the routine time of flight (TOF) SIMS (TOF-SIMS) instrument control under quality management regulations (e.g. ISO/IEC 17025:2005). By monitoring an easy-to-determine relative peak area ratio, the performance of TOF-SIMS instruments can well be assessed, in particular, with respect to the characterization of insulating samples. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.