AB-344
Automated analysis of etch acid mixtures using the 859 Titrotherm and the 814 USB Sample Processor
Summary
This bulletin deals with the automated determination of mixtures of HNO3, HF and H2SiF6 in the range of approximately 200-600 g/L HNO3, 50-160 g/L HF, and 0-185 g/L H2SiF6 using thermometric titration.Etch acid mixtures containing HNO3, HF and H2SiF6 from the etching of silicon substrates can be analyzed in a sequence of two determinations using the 859 Titrotherm. The first determination involves a direct titration with standard c(NaOH) = 2 mol/L, followed by a back titration with c(HCl) = 2 mol/L. This determination yields the H2SiF6 content plus a value for the combined (HNO3+HF) contents. The second determination consists of a titration with c(Al3+) = 0.5 mol/L to determine the HF content. For freshly made up mixtures of HNO3 and HF containing no H2SiF6, a linked two-titration sequence is employed. Results from the two determinations are used by tiamoTM to yield individual results for HNO3, HF and H2SiF6.