Crystal growth of alkaline earth fluorides in a reactive atmosphere: Part III

A comparison of CF₄ and C₂F₄ as agents of reactive atmosphere processing (RAP) in the crystal growth of alkaline-earth fluorides is given. At temperatures much below the melting point of these metal fluorides, C₂F₄ decomposes into CF₄. CF₄ converts H₂O to HF, but has a much slower action on the dry metal oxides at ?1000°C, and, therefore, it is preferred as a secondary RAP agent to the fast-acting HF.