To improve the depth resolution in secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) depth analysis by reducing the crater-edge effect, samples with mesa-structure projections were prepared by photolithography. The depth profiles of boron implanted into silicon were studied by comparing those for a conventional. at sample and the mesa-structure sample while systematically changing the gate area ratio. The mesa-structure preparation was very useful for eliminating undesired ions originating from the crater edge or surroundings of the analyzed area; it therefore led to remarkable improvement in the depth profiles while keeping a low background level of the order of 10 (1) cps and high dynamic range of the order of 10(5) even at a high gate area ratio of more than 30%. As a result, a good depth profile for a 4 mu m X 8 mu m sample was successfully achieved by this method. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.