Development of Korean 'Ion Beam Device'... Breaking Foreign Mass Spectrometers

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A domestic research team has developed an ion beam device, a core technology of mass spectrometers, which are instruments used to analyze the composition and structure of materials. With this achievement, Korea has secured technology comparable to German products that dominate the global market, bringing the international market entry of Korean mass spectrometers within reach.

Dr. Myungcheol Choi's research team at the Research Equipment Development Department of the Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI) has developed the gas cluster ion beam device, a core technology of secondary ion mass spectrometry, for the first time in Korea.

This device demonstrated a sample surface processing precision of 5 nanometers (one billionth of a meter) per minute in official performance tests, achieving precision levels similar to those of advanced foreign-made gas cluster ion beams used in secondary ion mass spectrometers both domestically and internationally. This advancement has elevated Korea's mass spectrometry technology to a world-class level.

In particular, the institute expects that the ion beam device developed this time will play a key role in the commercialization of the next-generation mass spectrometer, the '3D molecular imaging mass spectrometer.'

A mass spectrometer is an instrument that analyzes the composition and structure of a sample by bombarding it with an ion beam and measuring the mass of the secondary ions ejected. The 3D molecular imaging mass spectrometer can chemically analyze organic materials such as OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes), microplastics, as well as biological samples.

Principal Researcher Myungcheol Choi stated, "All mass spectrometers used domestically, regardless of research or industry, are currently imported entirely from countries like Germany and the UK. Since these research instruments are used in various fields such as semiconductor analysis, material development, and environmental analysis, we believed efforts toward localization were essential, which led us to start this related research."

Senior Researcher Changmin Choi added, "Gas cluster ion beam technology is a fundamental technology that can be widely applied not only to mass spectrometry equipment but also to other surface analysis instruments such as photoelectron spectrometers and surface processing industries, making it possible to commercialize in various forms."

Meanwhile, the Korea Basic Science Institute expects to accelerate the commercialization of the research results as its in-house research company, YNDK, is participating in this project.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.