Sensitivity enhancement using chemically reactive gas cluster ion beams in secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)

We report for the first time on significant molecular secondary ion yield increases by modifying the chemistry of a water cluster primary ion beam. This was demonstrated using 70‐keV ion beams of 0.15 eV/amu. For the neutral drug Bezafibrate, secondary ion yield enhancements ×5–10 were observed when replacing the Ar carrier gas in a water gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) source with a mixture containing 12% CO2 and 2% O2 in Ar. For the cationic drug Ranitidine, the ion yield enhancements using the CO2‐containing carrier gas were up to ×20–50 in positive mode and ×2–4 in negative mode. The extent of molecular fragmentation was very similar from both cluster beams. We conclude that additional chemically reactive species are present in the impact zone using the (H2O/CO2)n projectile, which promote the formation of secondary ions of both polarity through projectile impact‐induced chemical reactions. This methodology can be applied to further extend the capabilities of high‐resolution 3‐dimensional mass spectral imaging using reactive GCIB‐SIMS.