The semi-conductor industry is well known for its stringent requirement regarding purity of water and chemicals. Additionally these chemicals are often very corrosive. Our long-term partner AGRU Korea Industry Co.Ltd. has substantial experience in this field and is responsible for a number of interesting applications with glass fabric backed PFA sheets.
For cleaning of process equipment in the semi-conductor industry, display production and thin-film solar cell pro-duction, Nitrogen Trifluoride (NF3) gas is often used.
PFA has excellent
chemical resistance up to 260 °C.
It is broken down in-situ by a plasma and the resulting fluo-rine atoms are the active cleaning agent. There are different possibilities to produce NF3.
For the production of NF3-gas, electrolytic baths are widely used. In order to provide adequate corrosion protection and long lifetime for the analytical baths, AGRU PFA glass fabric backed sheets were applied in 2017 for the in-side lining of such electrolytic baths.
Ammonium Bifluoride (ABF) is a source to make NF3. By heating ABF up to 150 °C, the NF3-gas is generated. ABF and NF3 are very corrosive, especially at elevated temperatures. In order to provide adequate corrosion protection, PFA GGS 2.3 mm sheets from AGRU were installed for the inside lining of the tank used for heating ABF at 150 °C (see figure).
PFA has an outstanding chemical resistance up to 260 °C. The described projects document the successful application of PFA glass fabric backed sheets for applications in the semiconductor industry.