ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES WITH A NUCLEAR MICROPROBE

Nuclear microprobes have proved to be versatile tools to perform investigations in materials science with a lateral resolution of typically 1 to 10 mu m. Many of the commonly utilized ion beam assisted analytical techniques, like PIXE (Particle Induced X-Ray Emission), RBS (Rutherford Back Scattering), NRA (Nuclear Reaction Analysis), and Channeling can be applied with a nuclear microprobe. Additionally, there are methods typical for the nuclear microprobe, e.g. STIM (Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy). The nuclear microprobe used here has been applied successfully to the analysis of geological and biological specimens and is currently being modified by the introduction of a superconducting solenoid as focusing element to allow higher lateral resolution. Especially the analysis and modification of electronic devices will become possible. An overview of the analytical techniques practiced with the nuclear microprobe is given with emphasis on laterally resolved trace element analysis.