| Property | Specific Data and Standard Conditions | Notes and Comparison |
| Appearance | Dark gray metal with a bright metallic luster, and its appearance after polishing is similar to that of platinum. | The oxide film formed on its surface often gives it a dark gray appearance. |
| Density | 16.68 g/cm³ (20°C) | Between that of tungsten (19.25) and molybdenum (10.22), making it a high-density metal. |
| Melting Point | 3017°C (5463°F) | Higher than that of molybdenum (2623°C) and lower than that of tungsten (3410°C), making it one of the five high-melting-point metals. |
| Boiling Point | 5458°C (9856°F) | - |
| Mohs Hardness | 6.5 | Relatively soft, highly ductile, and easy to cold-work. |
| Young's modulus | ~186 GPa | Lower than that of tungsten and molybdenum, which reflects its excellent ductility. |
| Thermal conductivity | 57.5 W/(m·K) (20°C) | Good thermal conductivity, but significantly lower than that of tungsten and molybdenum |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion | 6.3 × 10⁻⁶ /K (20°C) | Higher than that of tungsten and molybdenum, but still falls within a relatively low range. |
| Resistivity | 13.5 nΩ·m (20°C) | Higher than that of tungsten and molybdenum, and more than twice that of the latter. |
It has extremely strong resistance to corrosion by most acids, salt solutions, and liquid metals, second only to platinum and gold.
It is completely non-toxic and non-irritating to human tissues, not corroded by body fluids, and does not cause allergic reactions. This is the key to its successful application in the field of medical implants.
Its melting point is as high as 3017°C (5463°F), making it one of the refractory metals (e.g., tungsten, niobium, molybdenum, tantalum).
Especially in the cold state, it can be easily rolled and drawn into wires or foils. This forms a sharp contrast with tungsten, which also has a high melting point but is very brittle
The oxide film (tantalum pentoxide) formed on its surface is an excellent dielectric material, which enables the production of capacitors with small volume but high capacitance.
The tantalum material has good thermal and electrical conductivity.
The properties of tantalum | Main applications | Details of application |
Capacitance | Electronic products | Smartphones, laptops, tablets, automotive electronic systems, military and aerospace electronic equipment, servers, and data centers |
Biocompatibility | Medical implants | Bone repair materials, surgical sutures and clips, dental implants, and manufacturing vascular stents |
Additive | High-temperature alloys | Blades for jet engines and gas turbines, components of rocket engines, core components of nuclear reactors |
Corrosion resistance | Chemical processing industry, heat exchanger | Crucibles, reactor liners, valve bodies, and pipelines |
A tantalum target is a plate made of high-purity metallic tantalum (Ta) or tantalum alloy. Serving as the "target to be bombarded", it is bombarded by high-speed ions under the action of electric and magnetic fields during magnetron sputtering—a type of PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) technology. This process sputters out tantalum atoms or ions from its surface, which then deposit onto the target substrate (such as silicon wafers, glass, metal workpieces, etc.), forming a thin and uniform tantalum film or tantalum-based film.
Thanks to its excellent properties, tantalum targets are indispensable core materials in fields such as semiconductors, high-end optics, decorative coatings, and wear-resistant coatings.
Types of target materials | Dimensional specifications | Thickness range | Notes |
Circular tantalum target | Φ25-Φ400 | 3-28 | Accept customization |
Square tantalum target | 10-600 | 1-12.7 | Accept customization |
Large-sized tantalum target | >500 | >10 | Accept customization |
Density: The theoretical density is 16.68 g/cm³, and the relative density is > 99.5%.
Surface Roughness: Ra < 3.2 μm
Grain Size: Average Grain Size < 100 μm
| Element | 4N5 Specification Value | 5N Specification Value | Unit | |
| Gaseous Element | C | ≤10 | ≤10 | wtppm |
| S | ≤0.5 | ≤0.5 | wtppm | |
| N | ≤10 | ≤10 | wtppm | |
| H | ≤5 | ≤5 | wtppm | |
| O | ≤50 | ≤10 | wtppm | |
| Metallic Element | Al | ≤0.1 | ≤0.1 | wtppm |
| Ca | ≤0.5 | ≤0.5 | wtppm | |
| Co | ≤0.1 | ≤0.1 | wtppm | |
| Cr | ≤0.1 | ≤0.1 | wtppm | |
| Cu | ≤0.5 | ≤0.5 | wtppm | |
| Fe | ≤0.1 | ≤0.1 | wtppm | |
| K | ≤0.05 | ≤0.05 | wtppm | |
| Li | ≤0.05 | ≤0.05 | wtppm | |
| Mg | ≤0.05 | ≤0.05 | wtppm | |
| Mn | ≤0.05 | ≤0.05 | wtppm | |
| Mo | ≤2 | ≤2 | wtppm | |
| Ni | ≤0.1 | ≤0.1 | wtppm | |
| Si | ≤0.5 | ≤0.5 | wtppm | |
| Sn | ≤0.5 | ≤0.5 | wtppm | |
| Th | ≤0.01 | ≤0.01 | wtppm | |
| Ti | ≤0.1 | ≤0.1 | wtppm | |
| U | ≤0.01 | ≤0.01 | wtppm | |
| V | ≤0.1 | ≤0.1 | wtppm | |
| B | ≤0.1 | ≤0.1 | wtppm | |
| W | ≤1 | ≤1 | wtppm | |
| P | ≤0.1 | ≤0.1 | wtppm | |
| Zn | ≤0.1 | ≤0.1 | wtppm | |
| Total | ＜50.00 | ＜10.00 | wtppm | |
Process Step | Specific Process |
Raw Material | We select high-purity tantalum metal (typically ≥99.95%) as the starting material. Just as high-quality flour is essential for baking, high-purity tantalum ingots are the primary guarantee for producing high-performance tantalum targets, directly controlling impurity content from the source. |
Melting | In a high-vacuum environment, tantalum ingots are melted by high-temperature bombardment with an electron beam. This process can effectively vaporize and remove volatile impurities from the metal, while making the composition more uniform, resulting in the casting of purer and denser tantalum ingots. |
Forging | At high temperatures, we repeatedly forge the tantalum ingots under immense pressure. This process breaks down the coarse grains, making them fine and uniform, thereby significantly improving the density, strength, and toughness of the tantalum targets. |
Machining | Lathes, milling machines, and other equipment are used to initially process the forged tantalum blanks into shapes and dimensions close to the final product, while removing the surface oxide layer and leaving an appropriate allowance for subsequent finish machining. |
Bind | The processed tantalum target blank is welded to a copper (or aluminum) backing plate with excellent thermal conductivity under high temperature and high pressure. The copper backing plate acts like a "heat sink," which can quickly conduct away the heat generated during sputtering, preventing the target from cracking or failing due to overheating and ensuring the continuous stability of the production process. |
Finish machining | The final forming process is carried out on high-precision CNC machine tools. This step ensures that the tantalum target’s dimensions, flatness, roughness, and other parameters fully meet your technical requirements and that it can be perfectly matched and installed with the sputtering equipment. |
Sandblasting | Fine abrasives are used to uniformly impact the target surface. The purpose is to remove processing marks, oxide discoloration, and minor scratches from the previous process, resulting in a uniform, contamination-free matte surface. |
Cleaning and packaging | This is the final step before delivery. After multiple rounds of strict ultrasonic cleaning and drying, the tantalum targets are sealed and packaged in specialized moisture-proof, anti-static vacuum bags in an ultra-clean environment. This ensures they remain free from any contamination during transportation and storage. |
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