The noble gas neon is synonymous with neon signs that light up the world's largest cities. This gas gives out a bright orange light when lit, and is especially visible from a distance.
Air Products supplies neon gas and neon-fluorine excimer laser mixtures for lithography, etching, LASIK, micro-machining organic materials, micro-drilling and dicing.
Rare gases, also known as noble gases, are the most inert and unreactive elements known to man. They are found in very low concentrations in the environment and are manufactured by Air Separation Units (ASU). Due to their unique chemical properties, experts have found very novel and interesting applications for them.
Xenon is used for etching and deposition of microchips in semiconductor manufacturing, both as an atmosphere, plasma and as an ion beam source for etching and deposition processes. Xenon used in this process needs to be very pure as any impurities will end up contaminating the silicon substrate or reacting with the process chemicals like fluorine to produce poisonous and highly corrosive hydrogen fluoride (HF). As a global leader in servicing the electronics industry, Air Products’ xenon is produced in our state-of-the-art electronics grade plant for better quality assurance. It can be used in excimer laser, laser buffer gases, etching of DRAM and 3D NAND and plasma display panels.
