NIST METHOD HELPS FIND WATER IN INDUSTRIAL PHOSPHINE GAS

摘要

As manufacturers of semiconductor devices, especially lasers used in the telecommunications industry and light-emitting diodes for displays and lighting, seek to improve their products through the use of higher-purity gases, more sensitive methods for measuring extremely small amounts of water are needed. Undetected low levels of water often contribute to a device failing or not working as originally designed. Using cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS), a high-sensitivity method based on optical absorption, researchers from the NIST Optoelectronics Division recently demonstrated the ability to measure extremely small concentrations of water as an impurity in phosphine gas. This is the first time that CRDS has been used for this purpose in a highly toxic gas.