Tungsten metal contamination

Specifications. The use of tungsten hexafluoride in CVD appHcations in the manufacture of high density siUcon chips requires a high purity product, essentially free of all metallic contaminants. Several grades of WF are available. Table 2 shows the specifications for three grades of WF. ... 

Some metals used as metallic coatings are considered nontoxic, such as aluminum, magnesium, iron, tin, indium, molybdenum, tungsten, titanium, tantalum, niobium, bismuth, and the precious metals such as gold, platinum, rhodium, and palladium. However, some of the most important poUutants are metallic contaminants of these metals. Metals that can be bioconcentrated to harmful levels, especially in predators at the top of the food chain, such as mercury, cadmium, and lead are especially problematic. Other metals such as silver, copper, nickel, zinc, and chromium in the hexavalent oxidation state are highly toxic to aquatic Hfe (37,57—60). 

There are some disadvantages for HFCVD method. Filament is relatively easy to break, and its life time is around 100 h. Second, due to the high working temperature, the filament metal element can evaporate into the gas phase and deposit in the diamond film, which is a kind of contamination (Venter and Neethling 1994). Mehta Menon s group reported that tungsten filament yielded the lowest impurity level (few ppm by mass), whereas rhenium yielded the highest (parts per thousand) (Mehta Menon et al. 1999). Metal contamination in the diamond would affect the electronic application of diamond, even in ppm level, but this is not a big problem for the electrochemical application. 

Plutonium metal is often purified by electrolytic refining the plutonium sample is immersed in a molten chloride salt under an inert atmosphere, comprising the anode in an electrolytic cell. Liquid Pu metal is collected on the surface of a tungsten cathode and drips off into a collector. Transition-metal contaminants remain in the residue of the anode, and rare earths and other actinides concentrate in the molten salt. The yield of purified Pu metal can be as high as 97%. Zone melting is also used to purify metallic plutonium the plutonium is fabricated into a bar along which a high-temperature zone is passed. As the melt zone is moved... 

Although thoriated tungsten electrodes are frequently nsed in industry to provide easier arc starting, greater stability, and reduced weld metal contamination, Crim and Bradley (253) found that exposures of workers during grinding and welding with these elecfrodes were below the DAC. 

High density tungsten alloy machine chips are recovered by oxidation at about 850°C, foUowed by reduction in hydrogen at 700—900°C. Typically, the resultant powders are about 3-p.m grain size and resinter readily. There can be some pickup of refractory materials used in furnace constmction, which must be controUed. This process is important commercially. Eor materials that may be contaminated with other metals or impurities, the preferred recovery process is the wet chemical conversion process used for recovery of tungsten from ores and process wastes. Materials can always be considered for use as additions in alloy steel melting. 

As in the case of many metal—ahoy systems, weld ductihty is not as good as that of the base metal. Satisfactory welds can be made in vanadium ahoys provided the fusion zone and the heat-affected zone (HAZ) are protected from contamination during welding. Satisfactory welds can be made by a variety of weld methods, including electron-beam and tungsten-inert-gas (TIG) methods. It is also likely that satisfactory welds can be made by advanced methods, eg, laser and plasma techniques (see Lasers Plasma technology). 

Pt and Pt-Ir tips are less susceptible to contamination than tungsten and as a result are often used for STM systems operating at atmospheric or higher pressure.28 Because these metals are softer than platinum, a simple cut is frequently used to make STM tips however, the SEM images of Shapter and co-workers32 show the significant differences between these cut tips and those that are subsequently etched in a mixed water-acetone solution (20 1) with CaCl2.H20 as an electrolyte. 

Alloying the nickel of the anode to improve tolerance for fuel contaminants has been explored. Gold and copper alloying decreases the catalytic activity for carbon deposition, while dispersing the anode with a heavy transition metal catalyst like tungsten improves sulfur resistance. Furthermore, ceria cermets seem to have a higher sulfur tolerance than Ni-YSZ cermets [75],... 

Platinum is especially suitable for this application because even at high temperatures it has a good stability and a good resistance to contamination. However, different metals, all having a positive temperature coefficient, may be used, such as tungsten (for very high-temperature applications), nickel and nickel alloys and also (but rarely because of their low resistivity) gold and silver. 

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