Secondary-ion-mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis of insulators using positive primary beams is routinely performed by compensating the induced charge with a coincident electron beam. In the case of SIMS depth profiling, the established method consists of focusing an electron beam into the SIMS crater with a current well in excess of that of the primary ion beam. In this article we used both caesium and oxygen beams to bombard float glass, and intrinsic and doped diamond samples while varying the electron beam current and the area bombarded by electrons. We have studied how the electron beam to primary ion current density ratio modifies the charging conditions. We demonstrate that, for certain insulating and highly resistive materials, defocusing of the electron beam so as to cover the whole of the sample surface and part of the sample holder is extremely effective. It is also observed that the defocused electron beam works efficiently for an electron to primary ion current density ratio less than 1. We attribute this to the enhancement of surface conductivity through the creation of carriers in the conduction band, and observe similar effects when irradiating the surface with a laser diode. The ability to use a defocused electron beam will significantly aid profiling, of insulating and highly resistive materials where alignment of the coincident electron and ion beams is problematic. Defocusing of the electron beam also offers the possible advantage of reducing or eliminating localized electron beam damage of certain material surfaces prior to and during profiling. (c) 2006 American Vacuum Society.