Time-of-Flight secondary ion mass spectrometry

• Subject Area: Production Technology
• Term: Funded in 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 458688785

Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is a surface analysis method that provides the structural composition of a wide variety of materials with high lateral and depth resolution. This method can be use to determine the local composition of the uppermost monolayers of a material such as a plastic, for example, and to perform a depth profile analysis. By using this method, many research questions from basic research become accessible, which could previously only be estimate on a theoretical basis. Examples are the spatially resolved analysis of plasma-based thin films, the representation of aging processes, migration issues of additives such as antioxidants as well as the characterisation of contaminations and the enrichment of stabilizers in recycled plastics. The ToF-SIMS offers the possibility to analyze depth profiles of near-surface areas by accompanying sputtering processes. This includes the chemical analysis of interfaces, which could not be achieved so far. The "Hybrid-SIMS" applied for as an extension also allows the identification and assignment of unknown substances, which is essential for the identification of contaminations. This is rapidly gaining importance, especially for the analysis of plastics from recycling processes.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Flugzeitsekundärionenmassenspektrometrie ToF-SIMS
• Instrumentation Group: 1720 Spezielle Massenspektrometer (Flugzeit-, Cyclotronresonanz-, Ionensonden, SIMS, außer 306)
• Applicant Institution: Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann