Abstract
Time of Flight-Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS)), Fingermark visualisation Manual (FVM)
category C, has shown potential as a fingerprint visualisation process. Here ToF-SIMS is explored as a
fingermark enhancement process to be incorporated into current forensic enhancement laboratories
for criminal casework.
Fingerprints were collected on common surfaces (paper, stainless-steel, polyethylene, Polyethylene
terephthalate and polyvinyl chloride), and analysed using ToF-SIMS. This was carried out before and
after common FVM category A processes (ninhydrin, cyanoacrylate fuming, basic yellow 40, black
powder suspension and vacuum metal deposition). Samples were also aged for up to 5 months in
ambient conditions, under water or buried in the ground.
ToF-SIMS is demonstrated to have greater sensitivity to fingerprint residue compared with the
category A processes and is able to enhance friction ridge detail in many of the scenarios investigated.
Here it is shown that despite cost and some practical limitations of ToF-SIMS it has the potential to be
beneficial as an end of sequence enhancement process where not enough detail has been previously
visualised.