SIMS microprobe analysis using a liquid metal ion source (LMIS) for the primary ion probe can give fast, sub-micron resolution, chemical imaging of matrix and trace elements. The high brightness and small source size of the LMIS is vital for this high performance. Using a new 30kV gallium ion micro-probe a spatial resolution of 50nm can be achieved with a probe current density in excess of 1 A/cm2. A newly configured SIMS instrument is described which incorporates either a gallium or caesium ion probe as well as a duoplasmatron for ultimate sensitivity and depth profiling performance. For small area, high spatial resolution, depth profiling a raster-scanned ion micro-probe is ideal. A quadrupole mass spectrometer gives a mass range of 1–800 or 2–1200 amu. Examples are presented of up to 50nm resolution SIMS imaging with both positive and negative secondary ions and up to 50nm resolution ion induced secondary electron imaging of a wide variety of samples including superconductors, steels, alloy fractures, optical fibres, integrated circuits, catalysts, polymers and biological specimens. The recent addition of framestore to the system has enhanced the imaging capability, allowing secondary electron and several different secondary ion images of a sample to be overlaid in contrasting colours.