ISO 22048:2004

Overview - ISO 22048:2004 (Surface chemical analysis, static SIMS information format)

ISO 22048:2004 defines a compact, machine‑readable information format for static secondary‑ion mass spectrometry (static SIMS) instrumental and calibration metadata. The format is designed to be inserted into the comment block of spectral-data files that follow ISO 14976 so that existing ISO 14976‑aware software continues to read spectra while additional SIMS‑specific calibration and instrument parameters are preserved and exchangeable between computers. The standard supports time‑of‑flight (ToF), magnetic‑sector and quadrupole SIMS use cases by providing calibration coefficients and instrument settings necessary to convert raw abscissa (time or channel) to a calibrated mass scale.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Purpose: store and transfer calibration and instrumental-parameter data required to interpret static SIMS spectra without inflating spectral file size.
• Compatibility: supplementary to ISO 14976 and consistent with ISO 14975 structure.
• Calibration model: generic three‑term quadratic mass calibration (m(x) = αx^2 + βx + γ) that accommodates ToF, magnetic‑sector and quadrupole analyzers; physical models (e.g., ToF relation) should be used to calculate coefficients.
• Required metadata fields: all items must appear in the specified order. Fields include:
  • primary_ion_mass, primary_ion_pulsed_current, primary_ion_direct_current
  • primary_ion_pulse_width, primary_ion_bunched_pulse_width, number_of_ions_per_pulse
  • primary_ion_dose, primary_ion_cycle_time, number_of_ion_pulses
  • extraction_voltage, sample_holder_voltage, post_acceleration_voltage
  • calibration_coefficient_alpha, calibration_coefficient_beta, calibration_coefficient_gamma
  • flood gun energy, flood gun cycle time, flood gun pulsed current
• Identifier string: the package begins with the exact text line “[ISO_Static_SIMS_Instrumental_Parameter_Information_Format_1999_September_1]”.
• Data rules: numeric values use ASCII decimal/exponential notation; unknown numeric entries use the placeholder 1E37; text lines limited to 80 characters; recommended use of XML for species labels (e.g., SF5).
• Examples & annexes: Annex A provides archetypal examples for ToF, magnetic‑sector and quadrupole data packages.

Applications and users

• Laboratories performing surface chemical analysis with static SIMS for materials science, semiconductor, thin‑film and failure‑analysis labs.
• Instrument manufacturers and firmware/software developers who must export or import SIMS spectral data with reliable calibration metadata.
• Data managers and archivists needing interoperable, compact spectral metadata that enable later recalibration or mass scale conversion.
• Researchers and analysts who require traceable calibration parameters to convert raw time/channel spectra into accurate mass spectra without large interpolated files.

Related standards

• ISO 14976 - Surface chemical analysis - Data transfer format (primary container for spectral data)
• ISO 14975 - Information formats for AES and XPS (structural precedent and compatibility)