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 spatially resolved 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 variants address distinct application areas: the Orion MK for materials and nano science, and the Orion MN for life science and biomedical research.
Orion MN
Life Science
Molecular imaging and biomedical research
The Orion MN applies NP-SIMS to biological and biomedical samples, delivering molecular-level insight into cells, tissue sections, and nanoparticle systems. Its quasi-non-destructive approach, sampling a surface stochastically over a 10–200 µm diameter area leaves samples intact for downstream analysis. With one million individual mass spectra per run, co-emitted ion species from each impact site can be correlated to reveal spatial lipid distributions, drug localisation, and molecular heterogeneity at the single-cell and sub-cellular level.
Key Capabilities
| Spatially resolved molecular imaging 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
Nano ScienceNanoscale 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 |