MICROSCOPIC SPECIATION ANALYSIS WITH LASER MICROPROBE MASS-SPECTROMETRY AND STATIC SECONDARY-ION MASS-SPECTROMETRY

This paper presents a set of data which compares the potential and lim itations of laser microprobe mass spectrometry (TOF-LMMS and FT-LMMS) and static secondary ion mass spectrometry (S-SIMS) for inorganic spec iation at a microscopical level. In general LMMS yields prominent sign als of adduct ions consisting of the intact molecule combined with a s table ion, which allows a direct identification of the analyte. S-SIMS also yields abundant diagnostic signals to specify the molecular comp osition. However, adduct ions are not always present, which means that the identification often relies on fingerprinting. Results further in dicate that the potential and the application area of S-SIMS and FT-LM MS are complementary to one another. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.