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Investigation of polymer thin films by use of Bi-cluster-ion-supported time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry

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Abstract

The investigation and analysis of polymer thin films with Bi n +, n = 1–7 cluster ions has been demonstrated by means of static secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The highly specific signal enhancement of these primary ions combined with the individual fragmentation pattern of poly(4-vinylphenol) and poly(methyl methacrylate) is the basic principle for a modified approach of data reduction derived from the well-established g-SIMS procedure. Based on mass spectra, which correspond to different cluster ion sizes, not only a clear distinction between the two polymers is feasible but also a further simplification of the data can be demonstrated. It has been successfully proven that characteristic polymer-relevant species can be refined out of the large amount of unspecific and highly fragmented secondary ions, which are usually present in SIMS spectra. Therefore, a more precise and direct interpretation of complex organic fragments becomes feasible, which consequently enables the investigation of even more sophisticated samples.

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Acknowledgement

This work is part of the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Surface and Interface Analysis with ToF-SIMS in cooperation with AT&S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG. The authors are grateful to Stephan Abermann and the Institute for Solid State Electronics, Vienna University of Technology for the helpful estimation of the polymer layer thickness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemical Technology and Analytics, Vienna University of Technology, Getreidemarkt 9/164, 1060, Vienna, Austria

    Christoph J. Straif & Herbert Hutter

  2. Christian Doppler Laboratory for Surface and Interface Analysis with ToF-SIMS, Getreidemarkt 9/164, 1060, Vienna, Austria

    Christoph J. Straif & Herbert Hutter

Authors
  1. Christoph J. Straif
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  2. Herbert Hutter
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Correspondence to Herbert Hutter.

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Straif, C.J., Hutter, H. Investigation of polymer thin films by use of Bi-cluster-ion-supported time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. Anal Bioanal Chem 393, 1889–1898 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-009-2624-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-009-2624-0

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