High dynamic range micro-Faraday array detector for multicollector isotopic SIMS

Sponsor: Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic

Principal investigator: Jan Lorinčík, Ph.D.

Co-principal investigators: Prof. M. Bonner Denton; Prof. Peter Williams

From: 2007-01-01

To: 2010-12-31

The aim is to design the 3rd generation of the micro-Faraday array detector for multicollector isotopic secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). This detector is supposed to reach the sensitivity comparable to that of electron multipliers (a few counts per seconds) and a high dynamic range (more than 6 orders of magnitude). If we add the known problems of electron multipliers with count losses at high count rates then the new detector has a potential to outperform the electron multiplier in the fields where highest accuracy isotopic measurement is required. Our detector will push the direct current measurement technology to the sensitivity levels of 10-18 Amps. b) To apply the new detector to the measurement of sulphur and oxygen isotopes, for which the multicollector ion optics is optimized, and to reach comparable or better accuracy than the state of the art instruments. c) To modify the SIMS spectrometer for optimal performance for the multicollector detection of other important isotopes (e.g. CN isotopes).