Emerging Uses and Applications of Carbon Tetrafluoride

    While carbon tetrafluoride has well-established uses as a dielectric gas and plasma etchant, emerging applications continue to take advantage of its unique properties:

• precursor for fluoropolymer synthesis – CF4 plasma aids deposition of protective fluorocarbon polymer films and powders

• nuclear fuel conversion – CF4 can produce uranium hexafluoride for uranium enrichment

• semiconductor cleaning – CF4 plasma removes silicon dioxide and photoresist residues

• tracer gas – used to detect leaks and flow patterns at very low concentrations

• lense surface modification – CF4 treatment improves optical lens hydrophobicity

• particle accelerator cooling – excellent heat capacity suits CF4 for cooling superconducting sections

• negative ion beams – injection of CF4 into duoplasmatrons enhances negative ion current output

    The extreme chemical stability combined with the readily dissociated nature of CF4 provides a versatile combination that researchers continue finding new applications for across scientific and industrial fields.