SIMS quantification of very low hydrogen contents

Abstract The absolute quantification of hydrogen at the ppm level has become a key analytical challenge for the earth science for which no fully satisfying solution has yet been found. SIMS offers a direct and simple means of measuring the water content of silicate non-conductors at very low concentration, however at least two analytical problems need to be addressed before SIMS can be seen as a routine and robust solution. Here, we report initial findings from our work on calibrating SIMS analyses for very low H 2 O contents and also a description of the sources of hydrogen background, which determine the method's ultimate limit of detection.