Transmission secondary ion mass spectrometry using 5 MeV C60+ ions

In the secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), use of cluster ions has an advantage of producing a high sensitivity of intact large molecular ions over monatomic ions. This paper presents further yield enhancement of the intact biomolecular ions by measuring the secondary ions emitted in the forward direction. Phenylalanine amino acid films deposited on self-supporting thin Si3N4 films were bombarded with 5 MeV C60 ions. Secondary ions emitted in the forward and backward directions were measured. The yield of intact phenylalanine molecular ions emitted in the forward direction is significantly enhanced compared to the backward direction while fragment ions are suppressed. This suggests a large potential of using transmission cluster ion SIMS for the analysis of biological materials.