biostudies-literatureDe Castro OFonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg10754-10763https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9352148biostudies-literatureUnknown94(30)The structural, morphological, and chemical characterization of samples is of utmost importance for a large number of scientific fields. Furthermore, this characterization very often needs to be performed in three dimensions and at length scales down to the nanometer. Therefore, there is a stringent necessity to develop appropriate instrumentational solutions to fulfill these needs. Here we report on the deployment of magnetic sector secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) on a type of instrument widely used for such nanoscale investigations, namely, focused ion beam (FIB)-scanning electron microscopy (SEM) instruments. First, we present the layout of the FIB-SEM-SIMS instrument and address its performance by using specific test samples. The achieved performance can be summarized as follows: an overall secondary ion beam transmission above 40%, a mass resolving power (<i>M</i>/Δ<i>M</i>) of more than 400, a detectable mass range from 1 to 400 amu, a lateral resolution in two-dimensional (2D) chemical imaging mode of 15 nm, and a depth resolution of ∼4 nm at 3.0 keV of beam landing energy. Second, we show results (depth profiling, 2D imaging, three-dimensional imaging) obtained in a wide range of areas, such as battery research, photovoltaics, multilayered samples, and life science applications. We hereby highlight the system's versatile capability of conducting high-performance correlative studies in the fields of materials science and life sciences.Analytical chemistryMagnetic Sector Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry on FIB-SEM Instruments for Nanoscale Chemical Imaging.PMC9352148INTER/ANR/18/12545362INTER/DFG/17/11779689Barrahma RStoffels CGeryk MBouton ODutka MCoulbary CJiao CAudinot JNDe Castro OHoang HQWirtz TOst AfalseMagnetic Sector Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry on FIB-SEM Instruments for Nanoscale Chemical Imaging.The structural, morphological, and chemical characterization of samples is of utmost importance for a large number of scientific fields. Furthermore, this characterization very often needs to be performed in three dimensions and at length scales down to the nanometer. Therefore, there is a stringent necessity to develop appropriate instrumentational solutions to fulfill these needs. Here we report on the deployment of magnetic sector secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) on a type of instrument widely used for such nanoscale investigations, namely, focused ion beam (FIB)-scanning electron microscopy (SEM) instruments. First, we present the layout of the FIB-SEM-SIMS instrument and address its performance by using specific test samples. The achieved performance can be summarized as follows: an overall secondary ion beam transmission above 40%, a mass resolving power (<i>M</i>/Δ<i>M</i>) of more than 400, a detectable mass range from 1 to 400 amu, a lateral resolution in two-dimensional (2D) chemical imaging mode of 15 nm, and a depth resolution of ∼4 nm at 3.0 keV of beam landing energy. Second, we show results (depth profiling, 2D imaging, three-dimensional imaging) obtained in a wide range of areas, such as battery research, photovoltaics, multilayered samples, and life science applications. We hereby highlight the system's versatile capability of conducting high-performance correlative studies in the fields of materials science and life sciences.2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Aug2025-04-05T08:55:31.527Z2025-02-19T04:54:26.033ZS-EPMC93521483586248710.1021/acs.analchem.2c01410