We develop compact SIMS add-on systems, which can be mounted on various instruments, including helium ion microscopes (HIM), FIB (focused ion beam instruments) and dual beam instruments, transmission electron microscopes (TEM), ion implanters, etc.:
In this context, we are collaborating with zeroK (https://www.zerok.com/) to develop SIMS:Zero. SIMS:Zero is coupling LIST’s SIMS technology with zeroK's super high brightness laser-cooled low temperature Cs+ ion source, allowing (i) ultimate SIMS spatial resolution (< 8 nm) at (ii) highest sensitivity thanks to the ionisation enhancement provided by reactive Cs.
Contact: Hung Quang HOANG & Olivier DE CASTRO
We develop field portable mass spectrometers providing high transmission, high mass resolution and parallel detection. The mass spectrometers can be as light as 4 kg, allowing for an integration into portable and/or mobile systems. The size of the spectrometers is depending on applications and can be as small as 20 x 10 x 10 cm3. The mass resolution (M/∆M) can be ranging from a few hundreds to a few thousands. The two main fields of application are:
Contact: Hung Quang HOANG
Nano-scale techniques based on finely focused ion beams fall primarily into three groups: FIB machining, imaging (no chemical information) and analysis (chemical information). Such techniques all have in common that high-brightness ion sources are desired to produce very finely focused ion probes, and thus extremely high lateral resolution, while keeping a sufficiently high current compatible with a reasonable erosion rate or large yield of secondary electrons/ions. In addition, the species used for the ion beam is of great importance in all three areas mentioned above. Our ion source developments include a novel high brightness Cs+ ion source, negative surface ionization sources and versatile high-brightness electron impact ion sources.
Apart from high-brightness ion source development, we also develop compact electron impact ion sources for space and field portable mass spectrometry applications.
Contact: Hung Quang HOANG & Olivier DE CASTRO