title: Capabilities of femtosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for depth profiling of thin metal coatings.
abstract: The capabilities of ultraviolet femtosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (UV-fs-LA-ICPMS) for depth profile analysis of thin metal coatings were evaluated. A standard sample consisting of a single Cr thin layer of 500 nm +/- 5% on a Ni substrate was used. A fast washout was obtained by a high-efficiency aerosol dispersion ablation cell (V approximately 1 cm3), which allowed single-shot analysis with increased depth resolution. Laser ablation was performed in helium at atmospheric pressure conditions. A laser repetition rate of 1 Hz and low laser fluence (<0.5 J/cm2) were used. Very low ablation rates (<10 nm/pulse) were determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Information about the crater geometry and morphology was investigated using scanning electron microscopy and AFM. The depth resolution, calculated via the maximum slope of the tangent in the layer interface region, was smaller than 300 nm. Our data indicate that UV-fs-LA-ICPMS represents a powerful combination of high lateral and depth resolution for the analysis of thin metal coatings. Moreover, an overall ion yield, defined as the ratio of detected ions and ablated atoms, of approximately 5 x 10-5 was estimated for the chromium layer under the operating conditions chosen. The absolute amount of ablated material per laser pulse was approximately 1 pg, which corresponds to a detection limit of 180 microg/g.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Materials Research Center, ETH Zurich, CH-8093, Switzerland. jorge.pisonero@inorg.chem.ethz.ch
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pisonero
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wälle
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hartung
authors.forename: N D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Günther
mesh_terms: D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D008670:Metals; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D008670:Metals