The concentration of nitrogen trifluoride in the atmosphere is about 0.5 part per trillion, making it very hard to measure. (scientificamerican.com)
Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) is used mainly by the semiconductor industry to clean the chambers in which silicon chips are made. (scientificamerican.com)
The semiconductor industry started to use nitrogen trifluoride as a greener alternative for cleaning chipmaking equipment in the late 1980s. (scientificamerican.com)