Corrosion of Electronic Components by Hydrogen Fluoride

Generation of hydrogen fluoride (HF) from fire suppression by some gaseous agents is a major concern, because HF causes corrosion. Without proper precautions, the HF corrosion damage to some electronic facilities can be significant. A study has been carried out to evaluate the corrosion effect of HF on electronic equipment. This article describes details of the corrosion study in terms of test results from corrosion damage assessments. Test results show that surface corrosion on the electronic boards is visible when the test specimen is exposed to HF concentrations above 1000 ppm for 1 h. Test results also show that a video card with many attached components is much more vulnerable to HF corrosion damage than other test boards. The functionality of the video card is affected even at a relatively low HF concentration of 500 ppm.