Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) is one of the most advanced mass spectrometry techniques. TOF-SIMS is capable of mass resolution (m/Δm) &gt;10,000 and mass accuracy better than 1 ppm with potentially unlimited mass range. The primary ion beam can sample at a lateral spatial resolution better than 100 nm. Unfortunately, such a high-technology instrument is far beyond the resources of undergraduate programs, and only potentially accessible by interfacing with graduate academic research programs. In this paper we present our experience and progress attempting to create a basic TOF-SIMS instrument with reduced specifications that an order of magnitude closer to the price range of instruments typical for undergraduate degree programs. An interdisciplinary collaboration between the chemistry and engineering departments for design is critical for assembling commercially available parts into a working system. A group of engineering undergraduate to students, working on their senior capstone project, are working with chemistry undergraduate researchers to properly design and build the system. The system is intended for an undergraduate instruction in analytical chemistry at our university and will form the basis for future collaborative projects with the engineering department.

Design of a time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometer for hands-on undergraduate instruction

253rd National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.