Nanoprojectile Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (NP-SIMS)
Nanoprojectile SIMS (NP-SIMS) is a next-generation approach to secondary ion mass spectrometry that overcomes the resolution and sensitivity limits of conventional TOF-SIMS. By using highly-charged, time-tagged nano-projectiles as the primary ion source, NP-SIMS delivers highly localised molecular information from sampling areas as small as 10 nm without the signal averaging that limits conventional instruments.
Alba Scientific distributes the Orion NP-SIMS systems, manufactured by Bienne Technology, across Europe. Two configurations are available for distinct application areas: the Orion MK Nano for materials, semiconductor and nanoscience, and the Orion MK Life for biomolecular, cell biology and biomedical research.
Orion MK
LifeMolecular imaging and biomedical research
The Orion MK Life applies NP-SIMS to biological and biomedical samples, delivering molecular-level insight into cells, lipids, and biomolecular systems. Its quasi-non-destructive approach while sampling a 10–200 µm area on the 10 nm scale leaves samples intact for downstream analysis. The highly localised impact and associated spectrum, with up to one million individual mass spectra per run, permits correlated co-emitted species from each impact site to be identified, revealing spatial distributions of molecules in lipids, drug localisation, and sub-cellular molecular heterogeneity.
Key Capabilities
Spatially localised molecular identification from a ~10 nm sampling area |
| Co-emission correlation of lipids, metabolites, and molecular fragments |
| Quasi-non-destructive analysis sample available for complementary techniques |
| 1 million individual mass spectra acquired in 20 minutes |
| No labelling required direct molecular identification |
Orion MK
NanoNanoscale chemistry and materials characterisation
The Orion MK brings NP-SIMS capability to materials characterisation, thin film analysis, and semiconductor quality control. Using highly charged nano-projectiles, it achieves a sampling area of ~10 nm, an order of magnitude smaller than conventional TOF-SIMS with significantly higher secondary ion yields per impact. Bombardment at 1 kHz builds one million individual mass spectra in 20 minutes. Data from chemically alike sites can be summed for statistics, delivering accurate compositional information from nano-size spots without destructive sampling.
Key Capabilities
| Spatially resolved chemical analysis from a ~10 nm sampling area |
| Co-emission correlation of molecular species or fragments |
| 1 million individual mass spectra acquired in 20 minutes at 1 kHz |
| Quasi-non-destructive analysis sample available for complementary techniques |
| Significantly higher secondary ion yields vs. conventional TOF-SIMS |