Rare earth element measurements and mapping of minerals in the Allende CAI, 7R19-1, by NanoSIMS ion microprobe

Abstract

We have established analytical procedures for quantitative rare earth element (REE) measurements by NanoSIMS 50L ion microprobe with 2–10 μm spatial resolution. Measurements are performed by multidetection using energy filtering under several static magnetic field settings. Relative sensitivity factors and REE oxide/REE element secondary ion ratios that we determined for the NanoSIMS match values previously determined for other ion microprobes. REE measurements of 100 ppm REE glass standards yielded reproducibility and accuracy of 0.5–2.5% and 5–15%, respectively. REE measurements of minerals of an Allende type-A CAI, 7R19-1, were performed using three different methods: spot analysis, line profile, and imaging. These data are in excellent agreement with previous REE measurements of this inclusion by IMS-3f ion microprobe. The higher spatial resolution NanoSIMS measurements provide additional insight into the formation process of this CAI and offer a promising new tool for analysis of fine-grained and complexly zoned materials.