AbstractIn this paper the potential of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy combined with focused ion beam technology to characterize the composition of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) in three-dimension is demonstrated. The very high sensitivity of this method allows even very small amounts of elements/compounds to be detected and localized. Therefore, interlayer diffusion of elements between porous electrodes and presence of pollutants can be analyzed with a spatial resolution of the order of 100 nm. However, proper element recognition and mass interference still remain important issues. Here, we present a complete elemental analysis of the SOFC as well as techniques that help to validate the reliability of obtained results. A discussion on origins of probable artifacts is provided.