Surface Analysis by Laser Ionization (SALI)

SRI has invented and developed a new technology for characterizing surface and bulk materials: surface analysis by laser ionization (SALI). SALI can achieve submicron lateral resolution and depth resolution of several angstroms and therefore can be used to precisely determine surface, interface, and bulk compositions. For SALI, a sample under vacuum is examined by stimulated desorption of neutral species followed by nonselective laser photoionization and reflecting time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The desorption can be performed using rare gas ions, electrons, an additional laser beam, or programmed thermal desorption.

SALI provides a unique combination of sensitivity with quantitation for chemical composition measurements and can be applied to many types of samples such as ceramic, metallic, semiconducting, and polymeric samples.
 

Technical Contact:
Gopala Krishnan
(650) 859-2627
gopala.krishnan@sri.com