Application of pan-sharpening to SIMS imaging

Higher resolution and increased intensity is always a goal for SIMS imaging experiments. One approach to achieving this goal might be to utilize complementary data sources that could be merged through the process of image fusion. The idea to incorporate the best aspects of two different image acquisition approaches to maximize information content. Here, we examine a subset of image fusion, pan-sharpening, that is utilized to combine relevant and redundant information from a pair of high resolution and low resolution images to create a hybrid image. To test applicability to SIMS imaging, two different scenarios are considered. First, a copper-mesh grid SIMS image is fused with a higher resolution SEM image to improve the intensity and contrast between gridlines and background. Secondly, an SIMS image obtained with an Ar₄₀₀₀ ⁺ cluster primary ion beam is fused with a higher resolution C₆₀ ⁺ image to map specific lipid signals in a 3D depth profile of HeLa cells.