Negative Ions for Emerging Interdisciplinary Applications

Abstract

In many applications related to ion beam-materials interactions negative ions are particularly desirable due to its merit to yield a very low surface charge-up voltage, {approx} a few volts, for both electrically isolated surfaces and insulators. Some important applications pertaining to ion beam-material interactions include surface analysis by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), voltage-contrast microscopy for semiconductor device inspection, materials processing, and ion beam lithography. These applications primarily require vacuum environments. On the other hand, a distinct area of activities constitutes formation of ions and ion transport in ambient environmental conditions, i.e., at atmospheric pressures. In this context, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is an important analytical device that uses negative ions and operates at ambient conditions. IMS is widely used in both physical and biological sciences including monitoring environmental conditions, security screening and disease detection. This article highlights several critical issues related to the ionization sources and ion transport in IMS. Additionally, the critical issues related to ion sources, transport and focusing are discussed in the context of SIMS with sub-micrometer spatial resolution.