Gunshot residue analysis by SEM/EDS and integrated Ion Beam Analysis (IBA)

Ion beam analysis (IBA) is a group of techniques that use high energy charged particles (ions) to detect trace elements at the few parts per million (ppm) level in most materials. In most cases, no sample preparation is required, and areas of large or very small (micrometer dimensions) samples can be studied, either under vacuum or in air. IBA can be used to obtain elemental or chemical maps of samples with a spatial resolution of <100nm, and elemental depth profiles with a resolution in the region of a few nm can be non-destructively obtained.