Widely used for over 20 years to characterised glass surfaces, SIMS appears to be a very powerful technique for analyzing modifications of the surface composition during all sorts of treatments, such as aging, dealkalization, diffusion - as well as for analyzing layers deposited on glass, both organic and inorganic, with a lateral resolution that can easily be in the 0.1-1um range. All elements, including those of low atomic number, can be studied on modern instruments that analyze both positively and negatively charged secondary ions. The accuracy of these analyses can be within 10-20% if sensitivity factors have been established using reference samples with compositions close to that of the unknown. Comparison with a standard is necessary for a correct interpretation.
