The role of SIMS in cultural heritage studies

Abstract

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a highly sensitive chemical analysis technique available in variants, which are top monolayer specific (static SIMS) or which can extract micro-volume analyses or depth profiles (dynamic SIMS). The technique offers ppm or even ppb atomic sensitivity for the consumption of extremely small sample volumes. In the area of cultural heritage, SIMS has been applied to a diverse range of problems including technology and authenticity, origin and provenance, degradation processes, such as corrosion and weathering, and conservation. In this paper, the basic attributes and limitations of the technique are described. An outline is given of applications to glasses (obsidian dating, conservation of stained glass and Venetian glass), metals (simulated archaeological bronzes), pigments and human remains, focusing on conservation problems such as the assessment and suppression of corrosion, other degrading processes, identification of materials using speciation. The topic of ultra low energy SIMS, newly applied to cultural heritage materials, is briefly described.