Tungsten nitride is an inorganic compound, a nitride

Nitride

In chemistry, a nitride is a compound of nitrogen where nitrogen has a formal oxidation state of −3. Nitrides are a large class of compounds with a wide range of properties and applications....

 of tungsten

Tungsten

Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...

. It is a hard, solid, brown-colored ceramic

Ceramic

A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...

 material that is electrically conductive and decomposes in water.

It is used in microelectronics

Microelectronics

Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics. As the name suggests, microelectronics relates to the study and manufacture of very small electronic components. Usually, but not always, this means micrometre-scale or smaller,. These devices are made from semiconductors...

 as a contact material

Wire bonding

Wire bonding is the primary method of making interconnections between an integrated circuit and a printed circuit board during semiconductor device fabrication. Although less common, wire bonding can be used to connect an IC to other electronics or to connect from one PCB to another...

, for conductive layers, and barrier layers between silicon

Silicon

Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...

 and other metals, eg. tungsten

Tungsten

Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...

 or copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

. It is less commonly used than titanium nitride

Titanium nitride

Titanium nitride is an extremely hard ceramic material, often used as a coating on titanium alloys, steel, carbide, and aluminium components to improve the substrate's surface properties....

 or tungsten

Tungsten

Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...

 films.

Tungsten nitride forms together with tungsten dioxide, tungsten trioxide

Tungsten trioxide

Tungsten oxide, also known as tungsten trioxide or tungstic anhydride, WO3, is a chemical compound containing oxygen and the transition metal tungsten. It is obtained as an intermediate in the recovery of tungsten from its minerals. Tungsten ores are treated with alkalis to produce WO3...

, and tungsten pentoxide

Tungsten pentoxide

Tungsten pentoxide was reported in early literature but proved to have the stoichiometry W18O49. Sometimes called mineral blue it is a blue solid formed by the reaction of tungsten trioxide, W2O3, and tungsten metal at 700 °C. There are a number of these unusual intermediate oxides formed from...

 when a light bulb breaks while the filament is heated.

Tungsten silicide is another material with similar use.