3D NANOCHEMISCOPE · Combined SIMS-SFM Instrument for the 3-Dimensional Chemical Analysis of Nanostructures

The objective of this project is to develop an innovative and novel combination of a new TOF-SIMS with substantially improved lateral resolution and sensitivity, combined with a new metrological high resolution SFM. The two techniques provide complementary information on nanoscale surface chemistry and surface morphology. In combination with a layer by layer removal of material using low energy sputtering, quantitatively measured by SFM, this combined ultra-high vacuum (UHV) instrument will be unique for the 3-dimensional chemical characterisation of nanostructured inorganic as well as organic materials with down to at least 10 nm lateral resolution and down to 1 nm depth resolution. Joint by a novel software for the calculation and display of 3-dimensional distributions of all chemical species, this leads to a totally new “3D NanoChemiscope”.