Fluorine Gas Analyzer: Measuring Fluorine Gas in Specialty Gases

Fluorine Analyzer - Tutorial Video

Introduction

The specialty gas industry is critical to a variety of sectors such as oil & gas, petrochemical, consumer electronics, analytical research, glove box applications and more. Recent growth in specialty gases can be largely attributed to the rise in demand of electronics from LEDs to semiconductors. High-purity gases play an important role in the manufacturing processes for consumer electronics. The global market was estimated at USD 10 billion in 2020 and is forecasted for continued growth due to expected increases in manufacturing.

With high purity industrial gases, suppliers need to verify the concentration of the gas as part of their quality control before the product ships to the end user. The OMA-406 Rackmount Analyzer uses a dispersive UV spectrophotometer for measuring the concentrations of fluorine, chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, ammonia and other gas mixtures from ppm to percent levels. The full spectrum analysis of the OMA-406 enables a single analyzer to be calibrated for multiple ranges and for multiple analytes. Specialty gas manufacturers can leverage the versatility of the OMA-406 to simplify quality control procedures.

Special Application: Measuring F₂/Cl₂ in Excimer Laser Gas Mixtures

Excimer lasers have many industrial uses, from patterning the circuiting of microchips, to banding layers of transistors together, to correcting vision. Excimer lasers utilize specific combinations of halogen gases, rare noble gases, and a buffer gas. These gas mixtures are typically comprised of 2-9 % noble gas (Krypton, argon, or xenon), 0.2% halogen gas (chlorine or fluorine), and 90-98% buffer gas (helium or neon). When a specific mixture of these gases is provided with the proper electrical stimulation and pressure, different wavelengths of deep ultraviolet (DUV) light are emitted.

Premixed cylinders containing blends of XeF or KrCl, for example, are produced by specialty gas companies for sale to companies that operate excimer lasers. The quality of the excimer laser gas cylinders must be closely monitored during their production. In addition, the mixed cylinder must be validated, and the halogen gas needs to be quantified.

The OMA-406 Rackmount Analyzer continuously outputs both F₂ and Cl₂ readings, providing new measurements approximately every 5 seconds. Response time is critical in the production of excimer laser gas mixtures in order to respond to sudden changes in product quality.

Absorbance Spectra of F₂ and Cl₂

F₂ Absorbance Spectrum: 1.08% F₂

Cl₂ Absorbance Spectrum: 4890 ppmv Cl₂

System Benefits

• Continuously measures the concentrations of fluorine, chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, ammonia or other gas mixtures using UV-Vis spectrophotometer
• Totally solid-state build with no moving parts — modern design for low maintenance
• Additional software benches for up to 4 chemical analytes
• Ultra-safe fiber optic design with no sample gas inside analyzer unit — world’s safest solution for this application

Installation and Product Photos

Further Reading