Determination of trace elements in gallium arsenide by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry after pretreatment in gas streams

Abstract

Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) with a resistively-heated graphite furnace is used for the determination of chromium (0.3–1 atom/10 6 atom) in chromium-doped gallium arsenide after pretreatment in a separate furnace in a stream of argon to remove arsenic, and of manganese and silver (0.03 and 0.04 atom/10 6 atoms, respectively) by a similar procedure after pretreatment with argon and chlorine, the latter to remove both gallium and arsenic as volatile chlorides. Results for chromium were in agreement with those obtained by furnace AAS after dissolution and by spark-source mass spectrometry (SSMS) but AAS after dissolution is more precise. Results for manganese and silver obtained by both gas pretreatments were in good agreement, but were higher than those obtained for presparked material by SSMS, indicating that surface contamination of gallium arsenide was not completely removed by the etching methods used. The procedures established that the concentrations of bismuth, indium and lead in the gallium arsenide sample were below the limits of detection of 3 × 10 −3, 10 × 10 −3 and 1 × 10 −3 atom/10 6 atoms, respectively. In all cases, calibration graphs were constructed from data obtained with aqueous solutions of appropriate salts.