Transmission secondary ion mass spectrometry using 5MeV 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 5MeV 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]