Abstract: A method and an apparatus for storing measured data from a sputter crater which is generated and analyzed in a secondary ion mass spectrometer is considerably more simple and cost-effective than techniques requiring complete data storage and is an improvement over the known standard integral method. The region swept by the ion beam of a secondary ion mass spectrometer is subdivided into a plurality of sub-areas, one location in a memory is assigned to each of the sub-areas, the signal components occurring from the individual sub-areas are stored in the assigned memory locations during a sweep of the sputter crater with the ion beam, and the measured data are evaluated after the end of at least one scan of the sputter crater.

Abstract: A specimen mount for secondary ion mass spectrometry, as well for other sensitive particle beam analysis methods, has a rotatable support element to which at least one carrier is secured, a specimen being affixed to a free end of the carrier. The dimensions of the carrier in directions perpendicular to the propagation direction of the ion or particle beam are smaller than the dimensions of the specimen mounted thereon, so that only the specimen, and no surrounding environment, is in the beam path. The rotatable element is driven so as to move one or more of the carriers with the specimens mounted thereon through the beam path.

Abstract: An electrically conductive sample support mounting for the analysis technique of secondary ion mass spectrometry employs a sample plate accommodating the sample. At the sample plate surface facing an ion beam or neutral particle beam, the sample is arranged in an environment-free fashion fully in the interior of the region impinged or scanned by the ion beam or neutral particle beam. Through the creation of a so-called orifice, interfering influences which can arise from a crater rim and from its surroundings are entirely eliminated. The invention is applied in the case of depth profile measurement of ion-implanted doping materials in semiconductor crystal disks and for the purpose of ultrasensitive trace analysis in solids.