[labnetwork] advice on work safety when sputtering Osmium

[Bernard Alamariu]

Hello,


The Os powder is very dangerous.
The main danger is when you clean the sputtering machine.
There were several  instances with terrible consequences ( death & sick) 
by cross contamination.
The people that cleaned the sputtering machines were very carefully and 
took all the safety measures
and were OK, but put their gowns in the common locker room. The dust 
spread on other people gowns
that got sick.

Thanks, Bernard


On 2/24/15 10:25 PM, Gerhard Ulbricht wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I'm looking for advice on Osmium (Os) sputter deposition. We are 
> interested in its superconducting behavior, and I would like to ask 
> you if anyone has experience with Os sputtering and especially with 
> the required safety procedures.
>
> More details:
>  - We intend to sputter Os from a bulk 2" Os sputter target in a UHV 
> system.
>  - The main danger with Os is its oxide (OsO4) which is volatile and 
> highly toxic.
>  - It is known that Os powder at room temperature oxidizes on its own 
> to OsO4, but bulk Os has to be heated above 400 C.
>
> The sputter process will coat both sample and the inside of the 
> sputter system with thin Os films. Save sample handling is no issue, 
> but what precautions would be advisable for the sputter system itself? 
> My main worry is system maintenance: That's the only time the Os 
> inside will come into contact with Oxygen. Will the thin film inside 
> react like Os powder and form OsO4 even at room temperature? Or should 
> we expect the oxidization to be minimal at room temperature?
>
> I appreciate any advice you can give,
>
> Gerhard Ulbricht
> University of California Santa Barbara
> Santa Barbara CA 93106
> ulbricht at physics.ucsb.edu
>
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