Tungsten nitride (W₂N, WN, WN₂) is an inorganic compound, a

nitride In chemistry, a nitride is an inorganic compound of nitrogen. The "nitride" anion, N3- ion, is very elusive but compounds of nitride are numerous, although rarely naturally occuring. Some nitrides have a find applications, such as wear-resistant ...

tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolat ...

. It is a hard, solid, brown-colored

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

material that is electrically conductive and decomposes in water. It is used in

microelectronics Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics. As the name suggests, microelectronics relates to the study and manufacture (or microfabrication) of very small electronic designs and components. Usually, but not always, this means micrometre-sc ...

as a contact material, for conductive layers, and

barrier layer A diffusion barrier is a thin layer (usually micrometres thick) of metal usually placed between two other metals. It is done to act as a barrier to protect either one of the metals from corrupting the other.. Adhesion of a plated metal layer to it ...

s between

silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic tab ...

and other metals, e.g.

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

. It is less commonly used than

titanium nitride Titanium nitride (TiN; sometimes known as Tinite) is an extremely hard ceramic material, often used as a physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating on titanium alloys, steel, carbide, and aluminium components to improve the substrate's surface prope ...

films. Tungsten nitride forms together with

tungsten dioxide Tungsten(IV) oxide is the chemical compound with the formula W O2. The bronze-colored solid crystallizes in a monoclinic cell. The rutile Rutile is an oxide mineral composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the most common natural form of TiO2. ...

tungsten trioxide Tungsten(VI) oxide, also known as tungsten trioxide is a chemical compound of oxygen and the transition metal tungsten, with formula WO3. The compound is also called tungstic anhydride, reflecting its relation to tungstic acid . It is a light ...

, and

tungsten pentoxide Tungsten pentoxide () was reported in early literature but proved to have the stoichiometry W18O49.Wells A.F. (1984) ''Structural Inorganic Chemistry'' 5th edition Oxford Science Publications Sometimes called mineral blue, it is a blue solid for ...

when an

incandescent light bulb An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxida ...

breaks while the filament is heated.

Tungsten silicide Tungsten silicide (WSi2) is an inorganic compound, a silicide of tungsten. It is an electrically conductive ceramic material. Chemistry Tungsten silicide can react violently with substances such as strong acids, fluorine Fluorine is a chemical ...

is another material with similar use.

References

Tungsten compounds Nitrides Ceramic materials {{material-stub