The use of molecular beams in nuclear microprobe imaging

Abstract Molecular hydrogen ions were first used in nuclear microprobe STIM imaging to enhance contrast. These beams have also been used for PIXE and other techniques of microprobe imaging, although the high-energy electrons associated with the molecules caused problems with charge integration. This paper discusses the use of asymmetric molecular ion beams, to utilise the properties of molecular break-up for enhanced materials analysis. In particular the use of the deuterium-hydrogen (DH + ) molecule for STIM imaging to provide increased image contrast and improved density measurement for specimens of widely varying areal densities is discussed.