BACKGROUND: With the rapid growth of the semiconductor and thin film transistor liquid crystal display manufacturing industries, large quantities of the potent greenhouse gas nitrogen trifluoride (NF 3 ) is in demand. But perfluorocarbons are very stable compounds because of their molecular structures. Therefore, in the atmosphere, NF 3 is difficult to oxidize by O 3 , NO, NO 2 , and OH radicals, except by excited oxygen atoms O( 1 D) that can react with it to form NF 2 or other products. In this study the possible degradation process of NF 3 in the 'controlled release of radicals' reactor is discussed.