scope:

This document specifies a method for determining the maximum count rate for an acceptable limit of divergence from linearity of the intensity scale in single ion counting time-of-flight (TOF) secondary ion mass spectrometers using a test based on isotopic ratios in spectra from poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE). It also includes a method to correct for intensity nonlinearity arising from intensity lost from a microchannel plate (MCP) or scintillator and photomultiplier followed by a time-to-digital converter (TDC) detection system caused by secondary ions arriving during its dead-time. The correction can increase the intensity range for 95 % linearity by a factor of up to more than 50 so that a higher maximum count rate can be employed for those spectrometers for which the relevant correction formulae have been shown to be valid.