Powered by GoogleTranslate

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

English | Spanish

Scheduled Maintenance - President's Day Weekend
The U.S. Department of Labor will be conducting scheduled system maintenance beginning Friday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. ET through Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 8 a.m. ET.
Some pages may be temporarily unavailable. To report an emergency, file a complaint with OSHA, or to ask a safety and health question, call 1-800-321-6742 (OSHA).

Ingot Growing

Ampoule Breakout

After the single-crystal GaAs ingot is grown within the sealed quartz ampoule, the quartz boat containing the ingot, plus the seed crystal, is removed from the ampoule, either by cutting off the sealed end of the ampoule with a wet circular saw, or heating and cracking the ampoule with a hydrogen/oxygen torch. The quartz ampoules are recycled by wet etching the condensed arsenic on the interior surface with HCl/HNO3 or H2SO4/H2O2.

The following are potential hazards for ampoule breakout.

Flammable Gases, Fire

Potential Hazard

  • Possible ignition of flammable gases, resulting in fire and/or explosion. Employees may also be exposed to gases above permissible limits.

Possible Solutions

Acid and Caustic Solutions

Potential Hazard

  • Possible employee exposure to acid and caustic solutions used for etching ampoules for recycling. Solutions of HCl, H2SO4, HNO3, and H2O2 are commonly used.

Possible Solutions

Additional Information

  • Occupational Health Guidelines for Chemical Hazards. US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 81-123, (1981, January). Provides a table of contents of guidelines for many hazardous chemicals. The files provide technical chemical information, including chemical and physical properties, health effects, exposure limits, and recommendations for medical monitoring, personal protective equipment (PPE), and control procedures.
Back to Top

Thank You for Visiting Our Website

You are exiting the Department of Labor's Web server.

The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.

Close