When Electronic Fluorocarbons LLC (EF LLC) announced in October that it had secured a global exclusive supply agreement with 3M for the supply of octafluoropropane (C3F8), the news will likely have been met with more than a few quizzical glances.
Glances that were not in the direction of either the company or the deal – this is not the first exclusive deal that EF LLC has tied-up in recent years – but instead at the particular gas making the headlines. Many will likely have wondered, what is C3F8?
Perhaps unfamiliar to many, C3F8 is a fluorocarbon used in both electronics and medical applications. In the latter it may comprise one of the elements in ultrasound applications or be used in laser eye surgery. Its most significant application, however, is in the semiconductor sector as a chamber cleaning gas or plasma etching material.
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