Home Page of the
GeoForschungsZentrum SIMS Laboratory
Section 4.2
of
Division 4 of the
GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam
operates a fully equipped Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS) laboratory.
Our facility is based around a Cameca ims 6f magnetic sector ion microprobe;
this highly automated tool provides both isotopic and trace element information
at the micron-scale. Both GFZ and external scientists are invited to submit
project proposals for laboratory access. All external project are conducted
on a collaborative basis, whereby a GFZ scientist must be identified as
project participant and this scientist will be involved in the publication
of all results which are obtained from the SIMS analyses. All project proposals
are evaluated by the SIMS external steering committee, which evaluates these
proposals based on technical feasibility, scientific excellence and the
overall relevance of the project toward achieving the facility's benchmarks
of excellence. Applicants whose projects are judge to be of the highest
standard are invited to use the SIMS laboratory and will be provided with
adequate machine time in order to achieve the stated project objectives.
The GeoForschungsZentrum is a member of the
Helmholtz
Society of Research Institutions. |
|
View of the Cameca
ims 6f at the GFZ |
|
SIMS BasicsIon microprobes, also know as secondary ion mass spectrometers (SIMS),
use a finely focused ion beam to probe a selected sample domain. A small
percentage of the material sputtered from the polished surface of the sample
is ionized, and these ions are accelerated into a mass spectrometer where
they are separated according to their mass-over-charge ratio. An important
characteristic of SIMS is its high sensitivity compared to other microbeam
sampling techniques: the ability to count individual ions results in detection
limits in the parts-per-billion range for many elements. Also the fact that
ions derived from the sample are separated by their mass-over-charge ratio
means that isotopic analyses can be performed on very small sample volumes.
|
| Backscattered electron image of a zircon crystal
which in this example has a ~20µm diameter sputter crater produced
during a 90 minute SIMS analysis. The size of the sputter crater varies
between applications, but for most geologic applications ranges between
5 and 30µm in diameter. Electron Microscope image courtesy U. Glenz
of the GFZ. |
MEMBERS OF THE LABORATORY'S EXTERNAL STEERING COMMITTEE:
Prof. Dr. Rainer Altherr (Chairperson): Mineralogisches Institut, Universität
Heidelberg
Prof. Dr. Klaus Mezger, Institut für Mineralogie, Universität
Münster
Prof. Dr. Dave Rubie, Bayerisches Geoinstitut, Bayreuth
Prof. Dr. Hans. A. Seck, Mineralogisches Institut, Universität Köln
STAFF OF THE GFZ SIMS LABORATORY:
Our Contact Address:
SIMS Laboratory
Section 4.2
GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam
Telegrafenberg C164
D14473 Potsdam, GERMANY
tel: (++49-331) 288-1462
FAX: (++49-331) 288-1474
E-mail: SIMSlab@gfz-potsdam.de
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since December 2000.
Site established: 4 May 1999
