IONTOF is proud to announce that Prof. Dr. Ian Gilmore has been honoured with the prestigious Alfred Benninghoven Award. It is presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) and related techniques.
Prof. Gilmore, from the National Physical Laboratory (UK), has been recognized for his groundbreaking ideas leading to the development of a novel instrument that marries the benefits of ToF-SIMS with the high-mass resolution and structural analysis capabilities of the Orbitrap mass spectrometer. This innovation represents a major leap forward in the analytical power of SIMS, providing unprecedented insights into material composition and structure.
Prof. Gilmore's achievement not only reflects his personal dedication and expertise but also underscores the collaborative spirit and innovative drive that are hallmarks of the SIMS community. His work will undoubtedly inspire future advancements and applications, furthering our understanding of material surfaces and interfaces.
As the recipient of the Alfred Benninghoven Award, Prof. Gilmore will deliver a plenary lecture at the upcoming SIMS 24 conference, where he will share his insights and experiences with fellow researchers and practitioners. He will also receive a commemorative plaque or medal and a cash prize of 5000 euros, celebrating his outstanding contribution to the field.
The award, named after Prof. Dr. Alfred Benninghoven, himself a pioneer in the development of SIMS, serves as a testament to the enduring impact of innovative research and the continuous pursuit of excellence. IONTOF extends its warmest congratulations to Prof. Gilmore and his whole team and looks forward to their continued contributions to the scientific community.
On 13.03.2024, the BeNeFrance IONTOF user community convened at IMEC in Leuven, Belgium, marking an important day for our user community. The insights shared by IONTOF instrument users were nothing short of inspiring, showcasing the vast potential and diverse applications of TOF-SIMS technology.
A heartfelt thank you to Alexis Franquet and Anouk Galtayries for their impeccable organization of this event, with support from the SFV. Their efforts made it possible to host this gathering at such a technologically pivotal location. The anticipation for future francophone user meetings is high, and we are eager to witness the continued growth of the community and innovation from their research.
29.02.2024
SurfaceLab 7.4 Release - Introducing HDR mode for M6 instruments
The most recent version of our SurfaceLab software, SurfaceLab 7.4, has been released. This update brings a plethora of new features and enhancements for operating our instruments and analysing data. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced user, SurfaceLab 7.4 aims to streamline your workflow and provide valuable insights.
A major improvement was made in how to acquire images or profiles with an M6 instruments introducing a High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode to acquire a low current and high current data set of the same Field of View in one automated run. This approach, inspired from HDR photography, helps to generate datasets without saturated profile lines or pixels in
images at maintained high sensitivity.
The new release further provides new 3D correction features that not only apply the 3D representations, but actually correct the underlying data, allowing to extract corrected depth profiles.
Further features are an automated wedge preparation routine, or the possibility to align external images (from a microscope for example) with the sample holder image in the Sample Holder Info Editor for even easier and more precise sample navigation.
YouTube videos highlighting several features will become available in the coming months.
Several helpful videos on SurfaceLab 7 features and our IONTOF techniques are
already available and will certainly help you with our software tools and to gain more knowledge of our technology.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay tuned…
All main features are described in our New Features of SurfaceLab 7.4 presentation available in your download area. Of course you may also download the installer from here.
Remark: Please read the attached release notes carefully. Please also make sure to keep your SurfaceLab help updated.
29.09.2023
IONTOF Partners with Leading European Energy Storage Initiative
IONTOF is thrilled to announce our partnership with a prominent European energy storage research consortium. This collaboration, showcased on Storeage.eu, is a major step forward in our mission to advance sustainable energy solutions.
The European energy storage initiative, led by top researchers and industry experts, addresses the pressing need for cutting-edge energy storage solutions. This demand is driven by the transition to renewable energy sources and the rise of electric vehicles.
IONTOF's involvement underscores our commitment to innovation in clean energy technologies. Our advanced surface analysis instrumentation will provide critical insights into the materials used in energy storage devices. More information can be found on
After 11 successful conferences in Muenster, Germany, SIMS Europe moved to the University of Nottingham, UK, for its latest workshop. Initially launched in 1998, this compact and cost-effective scientific meeting, designed to engage young researchers and students, underwent a few changes, with David Scurr from the University of Nottingham stepping in as the 2023 host after pandemic-related disruptions.
Dr. Anja Henss Justus Liebig University Giessen Institute of Physical Chemistry
Looking ahead, the next conference is scheduled for September 7-9, 2025, at the University of Giessen, Germany, led by Anja Henss, Marcus Rohnke, and Michael Dürr. Plans are also underway to establish a scientific steering committee for SIMS Europe, enabling various European SIMS groups to host future meetings, overseen by Arnaud Delcorte.
PD Dr. Marcus Rohnke Justus Liebig University Giessen Institute of Physical Chemistry
Stay updated on these exciting developments on the SIMS Europe website, and share your suggestions and ideas directly with Arnaud. The SIMS Europe Team is thrilled to continue this successful conference series and can't wait to welcome you to Giessen in 2025.
Prof. Dr. Michael Dürr Justus Liebig University Giessen Institute of Applied Physics
06.04.2023
SurfaceLab 7.2 Update
SurfaceLab 7 Version 7.2.135568 Bugfixing Release 6 has just been released and is available for download from our download area:
Remark: Please read the attached release notes carefully. Please also make sure to keep your SurfaceLab help updated.
02.03.2023
Virtual IONTOF User School 2023
We are happy to announce that IONTOF will hold another virtual User School in April 2023 for our TOF-SIMS instrument users.
We will continue our very successful online format to host the User School in 2023, allowing our users to attend from all over the world conveniently.
The event is designed to assure an interactive exchange between participants and application scientists using our video conferencing tool. Due to the virtual setting of the IONTOF User School we have decided to offer several courses on different days. Each course is designed to last approximately three hours to cover the respective content, as well as leaving time for individual questions and exchange.
The courses are dedicated to TOF-SIMS users and will cover all contents of the traditional face-to-face User School but also latest new features. This includes typical workflows in an analytical SIMS lab, ranging from sample holder preparation to the selection of appropriate measurement conditions and finally focusing on data evaluation and interpretation, using a comprehensive range of tools present in the latest SurfaceLab 7.3 software.
All courses are dedicated to beginners in instrument usage as well as data analysis.
We will however strive to also include latest features of our software, so that our experienced users will benefit from attending as well.
If you would like to attend the IONTOF User School courses 2023 please use the registration form.
The registration will be free for all our existing customers.
Places will be allocated on a "first come first served" basis.
SurfaceLab 7.3 Release - New setting file concept for more intuitive instrument operation
With SurfaceLab 7.3 we just released the latest version of our extraordinary instrument operation and data analysis software.
The new release comes with a multitude of new features and improvements for operation of all our instruments as well as data evaluation.
A major improvement was made in how to start and operate our M6 instruments introducing a new common setting file concept, allowing to operate all analytical components by selecting default setting files from simple drop-down menus in the respective FPanel container or from the power on dialogue.
The new release also provides a fully remastered spectra printing dialogue, allowing a more convenient an efficient way to export your spectra to presentations or reports.
Further features are a new z-ROI and Lateral ROI setting menu, segmented y-scaling in spectra program, a new filter function for the Peak Evaluation Checkbox, support for a click of a button NIST library search and many, many more.
YouTube videos highlighting several features will become available in the coming months.
Several helpful videos on SurfaceLab 7 features and our IONTOF techniques are already available and will certainly help you with our software tools and to gain more knowledge of our technology.
All main features are described in our New Features of SurfaceLab 7.3 presentation available in your download area. All features and bugfixes are described in our Release Notes.
On 22.06.2022 the French speaking IONTOF user community gathered in the historic amphitheatre Gintrac at the University of Bordeaux. The science presented by our IONTOF instrument users was very inspiring and absolutely fascinating. A great demonstration of the huge variety in application for the TOF-SIMS technology.
IONTOF would like to express our gratitude to the organizers Anouk Galtayries, Alain Brunelle and Nicolas Desbenoit for organising this meeting in such an historic place. We are very much looking forward to future francophone user meetings.
Historic amphitheatre Gintrac at the University of Bordeaux
20.04.2022
IUVSTA awards International Prize for Technology to Ian Gilmore, NPL Senior fellow
We are happy to announce that Professor Ian Gilmore, Senior Fellow at NPL London and visiting Professor at the University of Nottingham, has been awarded the IUVSTA Prize for Technology for pioneering advances in vacuum instrumentation. Our collaboration with Ian Gilmore resulted in the development of our M6 Hybrid SIMS instrument, combining an M6 TOF-SIMS instrument with an Orbitrap mass analyser, enabling innovative multidisciplinary research. The prize is the highest prize given by the IUVSTA every three years.
The International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique and Application (IUVSTA) represents nearly 15,000 scientists and engineers who are active in basic and applied vacuum research. IONTOF congratulates Ian Gilmore and his team for this outstanding and well deserved achievement.
IONTOF is very proud to inform that the Virtual IONTOF User School 2022 was a great success. With more than 220 participants from all continents joining our sessions we were able to introduce many of our users to the operation of our instruments, the conceptual design of experiments as well as the use of our powerful new SurfaceLab 7.3 software features, recently pre-released.
We thank all participants for their active participation and valued feedback throughout the sessions and will certainly continue this virtual seminar series in the future. Nevertheless, as soon as the pandemic situation allows safe face to face meetings again, we will also organize a European User School at our headquarters in Germany again.
01.03.2022
Virtual The Americas IONTOF User School 2022
We are happy to announce that IONTOF will hold a virtual User School on April 26th and 27th 2022 for our TOF-SIMS users in the Americas time zones.
Our applications specialists have designed an online program that will allow an interactive exchange between themselves and participants using our video conferencing tool. Each session is designed to last approximately three hours which should be enough time to cover the respective content, as well as leave time for individual questions and discussion.
The courses are dedicated to TOF-SIMS users and will cover data evaluation and interpretation, using a comprehensive range of tools present in the latest SurfaceLab 7.3 software.
If you would like to attend the Americas IONTOF User School courses 2022 please use the registration form below. Please note that places will be allocated on a "first come first served" basis.
We are happy to announce that IONTOF will hold another virtual User School in March and April 2022 for our TOF-SIMS instrument users.
Due to the current pandemic restrictions, IONTOF has designed an online format to host the User School in 2022, allowing our users to attend the event safely. The event is designed to assure an interactive exchange between participants and application scientists using our video conferencing tool. Due to the virtual setting of this year's IONTOF User School we have decided to offer several courses on different days. Each course is designed to last approximately three hours to cover the respective content, as well as leaving time for individual questions and exchange.
The courses are dedicated to TOF-SIMS users and will cover all contents of the traditional face-to-face User School. This includes typical workflows in an analytical SIMS lab, ranging from sample holder preparation to the selection of appropriate measurement conditions and finally focusing on data evaluation and interpretation, using a comprehensive range of tools present in the latest SurfaceLab 7.3 software.
All courses are dedicated to beginners in instrument usage as well as data analysis. We will however strive to also include latest features of our software, so that our experienced users will benefit from attending as well.
If you would like to attend the IONTOF User School courses 2022 please use the registration form below.
We decided to implement a few changes compared to last year:
1
The registration will be free for all our existing customers
2
The limitations per course are now up to 150 instead of 40 attendees.
Places will be allocated on a "first come first served" basis.
IONTOF Announces Formation of New Subsidiary, IONTOF Japan K.K.
In 1996, IONTOF installed the first TOF SIMS instrument in Japan. From the very beginning, IONTOF could count on strong partners who supported our technical know-how with their many years of experience in sales and service. In Japan, IONTOF was first represented by CAMECA Japan and later by Hitachi High-Tech Science. During these successful times, more than 70 instruments were installed and IONTOF developed from a newcomer to an established market leader for TOF-SIMS instrumentation worldwide.
To further strengthen and improve support for our Japanese customers, IONTOF is very pleased to announce the formation of IONTOF Japan K.K..
The new company will take over all Hitachi High-Tech Science sales and service activities from April 1, 2022 onwards.
We are very grateful and proud that almost the entire Hitachi High-Tech Science sales and service team will join the new company to continue the successful work and further improve the service with the new support, commitment and flexibility that only a smaller company can provide.
IONTOF Japan will have its premises at German Industry Park in Yokohama, where offices, spare parts stock, and our demonstration facility will be available in one spot.
We hope that you will continue to support our work and soon benefit from the results of the new and even closer cooperation between IONTOF Japan and its German-based parent company. Further information about the new setup can be found on our new IONTOF Japan homepage at
SurfaceLab 7.2 Release - New powerful functionalities for instrument operation and data analysis
With SurfaceLab 7.2 IONTOF just released the latest version of its extremely powerful instrument operation and data analysis software. The new release comes with a multitude of new features and improvements for instrument setup and alignment as well as data evaluation.
The feature list includes many improvements such as fully automated sputter beam alignment, sputter current optimisation, one click sputter crater positioning and many others to improve the ease-of-use significantly.
Also the data analysis package has been updated, featuring new methods for automated analysis of depth profiles, multiple sectional concentration scales, powerful routines to find implant peak positions, as well as significantly improved performance for the calculation of possible peak assignments, just to name a few...
The new release also provides full operation and data analysis support for the TOF MS/MS option of the M6 in addition to new features for the Hybrid SIMS operation like an adaptive ion injection system (AIIS).
To demonstrate the different software features of SurfaceLab 7.2 we will share further YouTube videos in the coming months. Several helpful videos on SurfaceLab 7 features and our IONTOF techniques are already available and will certainly help you with our software tools and to gain more knowledge of our technology. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay tuned…
Remark: Please also make sure to keep your SurfaceLab help updated.
16.03.2021
Virtual IONTOF User School 2021
We are happy to announce that IONTOF will hold a User School in April and May 2021 for our TOF-SIMS instrument users. Due to the current pandemic restrictions, IONTOF has designed an online format to host the User School in 2021, allowing our users to attend the event safely.
The event is designed to assure an interactive exchange between participants and application scientists using our GoToMeeting video conferencing tool. Due to the virtual setting of this year's IONTOF User School we have decided to offer several courses on different days that may be booked individually.
The courses are dedicated to TOF-SIMS users and will cover all contents of the traditional IONTOF User School. This includes typical workflows in an analytical SIMS lab, ranging from sample preparation to the selection of appropriate measurement conditions and finally focusing on data evaluation and interpretation, using a comprehensive range of tools present in the latest SurfaceLab 7.2 software.
05.02.2021
New Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry announced
In 2020 the Royal Society of Chemistry's Board of Trustees announced Professor Emmanuel Iwuoha (University of the Western Cape, South Africa), Professor Pilar Goya Laza (Institute for Medicinal Chemistry, Madrid, Spain) and Professor Tebello Nyokong (Rhodes University, South Afrika) as new Honorary Fellows. Congratulations to all three for their outstanding academic achievements.
SurfaceLab 7 is the most recent instrument operation, data acquisition and data analysis software for all IONTOF instruments. With this versatile software IONTOF provides a professional solution for today's academic and industrial laboratories. Today, IONTOF has released the latest version of the extremely powerful SurfaceLab software. SurfaceLab 7.1 comes with a lot of improvements and new features. The release also includes IONTOF's new Multivariate Statistical Analysis (MVSA) package. The MVSA package is fully integrated and available for all SurfaceLab 7.1 users for free. We are sure that SurfaceLab 7.1 will again revolutionise the way TOF-SIMS data is handled.
To demonstrate the different software features we started to produce a series of YouTube videos, which we will release on a regular basis. The first videos are already online and we will add more content soon. So please feel free to subscribe to our YouTube channel to learn more about SurfaceLab and TOF-SIMS. Please go to…
Remark: Please also update your SurfaceLab help. Only the laterst help version (> 2022) is compatible with this bugfix release!
17.03.2020
IONTOF support during COVID-19 pandemic
As a reaction to the recent COVID-19 outbreak, IONTOF has put its pandemic contingency plan into effect. Currently the health and safety of our employees and their families have the uppermost priority. It is also our goal to maintain the highest possible level of customer service despite the present situation. As usual you will be able to reach the IONTOF support team by phone (+49 251 1622 200) or email (support@iontof.com). IONTOF also took precautions the ensure full spare part availability.
Official travel restrictions, however, limit our ability to provide on-site service. For the time being our engineers are not allowed to visit any customer sites. Please contact our hotline to check if we can find individual solutions in case you require on-site assistance.
We are sure that together we can get through this crisis and wish you and your families all the best for the coming weeks.
08.01.2020
Postdoctoral Position at the University in Gießen, Germany
The Justus-Liebig-University in Gießen offers a postdoctoral position in the research group of Prof. Jürgen Janek. Research will focus on the characterization of battery materials using ToF-SIMS, XPS and FIB-REM. The group of Prof. Janek is one of the leading groups in the field of battery research and offers a very attractive working environment. For more information, please contact:
After many years of constant commercial success, our current building finally reached its full capacity. To meet the demands of the next years IONTOF has now started to extend its current facility in Münster, Germany.
The new building extension will provide space for our entire service and service administration team and also provides additional storage space to support our extended product range. We hope that the new facility will be ready by the end of the second quarter 2020, a few months before the next SIMS Europe and our related user's meeting.
15.11.2019
Extremely Successful Launch of the all new M6 at SIMS 22 in Kyoto
The latest conference on secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS 22) was again a well organised and successful event. Thanks to Prof Jiro Matsuo and his team we all got a very positive impression of Japan and its unique culture.
Especially the conference dinner and the opportunity for selected participants to try on the traditional Japanese Kimono dress was very well received and we heard rumours that some candidates thought about changing their dress code even back home. For IONTOF the most important part of the conference was the launch of our all new M6.
Sven Kayser from the IONTOF sales team gave a comprehensive introduction of the new TOF-SIMS system during the first luncheon secession and we were all very pleased by the extremely positive response. It was very nice to finally see that all the hard work and the intensive design thoughts were appreciated by all our users.
13.05.2019
Learn more about Low Energy Ion Scattering (LEIS)
Thomas Grehl and Nathan Havercroft took the time to produce a series of short videos about low energy ion scattering. The series includes a general introduction into the technique but also covers other subjects such as quantification or thin film analysis. You can find the videos on our YouTube channel. Please go to…
The 101st IUVSTA workshop on "Advanced Data Analytics for SIMS" in Sao Paulo, Brazil from 9 to 13 April 2023 will focus on three themes: novel mass analysers (design & applications), novel ion beams (design & applications), and machine learning & artificial intelligence. The workshop will provide a unique opportunity to engage the community and discuss the latest innovations in ion beams and high-resolution mass analysers, as well as the new challenges for advanced data analytics in SIMS.
Following its tradition, the CAM-Workshop will bring together experts from the electronics industry and from material diagnostics equipment manufacturers in order to discuss challenges, novel solutions and future needs in failure analysis and material characterization of electronic devices, sensors and systems. For IONTOF Sven Kayser will join the meeting.
The ECASIA conference series brings together scientists from universities, industry and instrument suppliers, to bridge the gap between fundamental and applied research in surface science. For IONTOF our local representative Mats Erikson from Spectral will attend the meeting together with Sven Kayser and Matthias Kleine-Boymann.
SISS covers SIMS and related techniques based on ion-solid interactions: fundamentals, instrumentation, and application in various fields, such as semiconductors, industrial materials, biological, medical, and environmental sciences. Within three sessions: Atom Probe, D-SIMS, and TOF-SIMS, experts from the field exchange on latest trends and developments in the field. For IONTOF JP Manabu Hashimoto san will join the meeting together with colleagues from IONTOF Germany.
During this francophone GDR-MSI Meeting french speaking experts on mass spectrometry imaging will exchange on the latest innovations and applications in their field.
18th ICC - INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON CATALYSIS, Lyon, France
The 18th ICC will cover the latest developments and practical achievements in scientific and emerging fields of catalysis applications and fundamentals. The event will also include discussions on surface and analytical science. For IONTOF Thomas Grehl will talk on how a dedicated Low Energy Ion Scattering Instrument can help with these analytical tasks.
The SSI conferences will cover the fundamentals, emerging materials, devices for a net zero world as well as advanced characterisation techniques for solid state ionics. For IONTOF Thomas Grehl and Matthias Kleine-Boymann will join the meeting.
The microscopy education and networking event of the year, the Microscopy & Microanalysis 2024 will be held in Cleveland Ohio. An exciting group of symposia, spanning advances in instrumentation and technique development, as well as applications in the analytical, biological, and physical sciences was developed by the organisers.
The AVS 24th International Conference on Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD 2024) featuring the 11th International Atomic Layer Etching Workshop (ALE 2024) will be a three-day meeting dedicated to the science and technology of atomic layer controlled deposition of thin films and now topics related to atomic layer etching. For IONTOF Thomas Grehl and our local representative Mats Erikson from Spectral AB will join the meeting.
The 11th International Workshop on High Resolution Depth Profiling (HRDP-11) will be held in Dresden, Germany. It provides a platform for discussing depth profiling techniques, including ion scattering, RBS, and surface structure determinations. Researchers from various fields are encouraged to share both experimental and theoretical insights. Felix Kollmer and Thomas Grehl will be joining with invited contributions.
The International Conference on Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS 24) will be the occasion for colleagues from both academia and industries to exchange results and news on SIMS and related techniques. The conference will cover advancements of scientific knowledge from fundamental understanding to new applications. IONTOF will attend the meeting with several colleagues from R&D, Application and Sales. We look forward meeting you there.
2nd Imaging Mass Spec Conference (IMSIS) 2024, Münster, Germany
The 2nd Annual Conference on Imaging Mass Spectrometry 2024 (IMSIS 2024) will cover instrumentation, methods and applications of imaging mass spectrometry presented by international speakers.
The AVS International Symposium and Exhibition addresses cutting edge issues associated with materials, processing and interfaces in both the research and manufacturing communities. For IONTOF multiple colleagues from the US and Germany will join the event.
Conference on Biomolecule Analysis, Münster, Germany
The conference aims to provide a platform for scientists from various research disciplines to discuss the advancement in biomolecular analytical technologies, including micro- and nanoanalytical technologies.
Save the date for the next event on September 7-9, 2025, at the University of Giessen, organized by Anja Henss, Marcus Rohnke, and Michael Dürr. Plans are underway to establish a scientific steering committee for SIMS Europe, making way for more exciting conferences. Stay updated on the SIMS Europe website and join us in Giessen in 2025!
