Determination of Impurities in Semiconductor-Grade Nitric Acid with the NexION 300S ICP-MS

Semiconductor devices are currently being designed with smaller line widths and are more susceptible to low-level impurities. Nitric acid is widely used as a mixture with hydrofluoric acid to alter between diffusion-limited or rate-limited etching in the semiconductor industry. In this application note the NexION 300 ICP-MS is shown to be robust and suitable for the routine quantification of ultratrace impurities at the ng/L level in nitric acid. By means of computer-controlled switching between Standard mode and Reaction mode in the Universal Cell, interference-free analysis using hot plasma conditions for all analytes is possible during a single sample run.