AVS 51st International Symposium
    Applied Surface Science Monday Sessions
       Session AS-MoA

Paper AS-MoA8
Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Elemental Distributions from TOF-SIMS Image Depth Profiles

Monday, November 15, 2004, 4:20 pm, Room 210A

Session: SIMS II - Biological and Organic
Presenter: S.R. Bryan, Physical Electronics USA
Authors: S.R. Bryan, Physical Electronics USA
D.G. Watson, Physical Electronics USA
Correspondent: Click to Email
Time-of-flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometery (TOF-SIMS) is a powerful techique for image the distribution of elements and organic molecules on surfaces with with spatial resolution down to 100 nm. When combined with sputter depth profiling, TOF-SIMS can characterize the 3-dimensional distribution of all elements in the near surface region of materials. Due to the parallel detection nature of the TOF-SIMS technique, the full 3-dimentional data can be acquired for all elements in a reasonable amount of time. The challenge is to effectively display the tremendous amount of information generated in an image depth profile. The use of one or two cross-section images does not adequetly display the 3-dimensional distributions. In this work, we have applied methods developed in the medical field for CT and MRI imaging to TOF-SIMS data. Through the use of isosurface reconstruction and translucent display, the full 3-dimensional distribution of multiple elements can be viewed simultaneously.