Explanation

A technique for measuring the mass to charge ratio of secondary ions emitted by particles (ions or neutral particles) bombarding a sample using a mass spectrometer. The basic principle is that the primary ions (commonly used include argon, oxygen, nitrogen, cesium, and gallium plasma) generated by the ion source are accelerated and focused to bombard the surface of the sample, relying on the ion injection effect to produce positive and negative secondary ions and neutral particles.

Classification