As semiconductor manufacturing processes are being performed at increasing micro-levels, the demand for ICP-MS instrumentation capable of analyzing non-metallic elements at ultra-trace concentrations has grown. For these applications, the use of an ICP-MS system with a full-length resolving quadrupole before the collision/reaction cell as well as the capability to control the reaction within the cell can dramatically improve detection limits, allowing the detection and quantification of non-metallic elements at low levels.
This work demonstrates the ability of the NexION® 5000 ICP-MS to determine DLs and BECs of typical non-metal contaminants in sulfuric acid solutions, achieving excellent detection limits thanks to the combination of its multi-quad capabilities and other proprietary technologies.