grain in order
to yield a secondary beam
of Pb ions. The Pb ions are analyzed
using
a double focusing mass
spectrometer that comprises both an
electrostatic and magnetic analyzer. This
assembly
allows the secondary ions to
be focused based on their kinetic energy
and mass-charge
ratio in order to be
accurately collected using a series of
Faraday cups.
[10]
A major
issue that arises in SIMS
analysis is the generation of isobaric
interference between sputtered
molecular ions and the ions of interest.
This issue occurs with U–Pb
dating as
Pb ions have essentially the same mass
