Tungsten Hexafluoride Gas – WF6

tungsten hexafluoride

Tungsten hexafluoride (WF6) has one of the highest densities of any gas. To produce tungsten hexafluoride gas, pure tungsten metal powder (W) reacts with fluorine gas (F2) between 650F (343C) and 750F (399C). These elements combine to create a gas that has a density of 12.9 g/l. The air we breathe has a density of about 1.28 g/l, making WF6 ten times heavier!

Tungsten hexafluoride ships as a liquefied gas that is toxic, odorless and corrosive with a pale yellow color. It is used in a sealed chamber and must be handled carefully to avoid exposure. Proper ventilation is important and monitoring of the air quality is essential when tungsten hexafluoride is in use.

Semiconductor Industry

Tungsten hexafluoride gas is a specialty gas primarily for use in the semiconductor industry. It creates a thin layer of tungsten on semiconductor wafers through a chemical vapor deposition process. A chemical reaction causes the tungsten metal to adhere to silicon wafers. Tungsten is conductive, so it forms electrical connections between the various components on the wafers.

To satisfy the performance requirements in the semiconductor industry the purity of the gas must be greater than 99.999%. In order to achieve this the tungsten powder used in making it must be of a very high purity. This typical tungsten hexafluoride product data sheet from Linde shows the properties of the gas.

Tungsten Powder Manufacturer

Buffalo Tungsten produces tungsten powder used to manufacture WF6 gas. We do not produce the gases ourselves, but our stringent quality standards allow us to meet the demanding chemical specifications required to produce extremely high purity tungsten hexafluoride.

Some of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers rely on the gases made by Buffalo Tungsten’s customers. If your company is looking for an American producer of tungsten powder for WF6 production, you can contact Buffalo Tungsten to meet your supply requirements.