First Direct Imaging and Profiling TOF-SIMS Studies on Cutouts from Cavities Prepared by State-of-the-Art Treatments
Small amounts of interstitial impurities in the penetra-tion depth of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities have a dramatic effect on the quality factors and maximum accelerating gradients. Here we report the first TOF-SIMS studies of cutouts from cavities prepared by all modern surface treatments, which allow a direct corre-lation of the impurity distribution with the observed cavity performance. Imaging capability of our instrument allows to avoid the possible issues associated with the ‘‘ghost’’ depth profiles appearing as a consequence of particulate surface contamination, which likely caused the inconclusive SIMS results on e.g. oxygen diffusion in the past.