Gold liquid metal ion sources produce high quality TOF-SIMS spectra with excellent prospects for imaging using either Au++, Au+ or Au-2(+) primary ions. The beam is stable and exhibits a long lifetime when employing eutectic alloys of Si or Ge. In general, the yields are found to be considerably higher than when using Ga beams, but the increased yield associated with using dimer ions is also associated with an increase in surface damage. Finally, it appears that Au++ ion bombardment may yield improved spectra for certain types of compounds. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.