Surface Analysis by Highly Charged Ion Based Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

Electronic sputtering in the interaction of slow (v < 106 m/s), highly charged ions (e.g., Au69+) with solid surfaces increases secondary ion yields by over two orders of magnitude compared to sputtering with singly charged ions. We discuss advantages of highly charged ions for analysis of semiconductors and biomolecular solids in a time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry scheme.