Hiden Analytical has published a technical article exploring how Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, SIMS, can support isotope ratio analysis and depth-resolved characterization of enriched medical isotope target materials.
Yb-174 SIMS 3D image stack: Depth-resolved SIMS image of a 200 µm-wide line of Yb-174 deposited on a stainless-steel substrate. The measurement area is 800 × 800 µm, with a total analyzed depth of 1 µm. Image Credit: Hiden Analytical
The article explains why enriched isotope targets are important in medical radioisotope production research, and how SIMS can help researchers assess isotope distribution, surface composition, contamination and depth variation in scarce or high-value solid materials.
A key focus is the ability of SIMS to preserve spatial and depth information. Unlike bulk isotope analysis, which provides an averaged composition, SIMS can show how isotope distribution varies across a surface, through a deposited layer or within a depth profile.
The article also highlights Hiden Analytical’s AutoSIMS as a compact, automated route to routine SIMS analysis for laboratories working with deposited layers, thin films and enriched isotope target materials.
Enriched isotope targets are often valuable, limited in quantity and highly application-specific. SIMS provides a direct way to examine isotope distribution in the solid material itself, while retaining the spatial and depth information that can be lost in bulk measurements.”
Graham Cooke, Principal Scientist, Hiden Analytical