Target Reclaim Service for Tantalum Sputtering Target
Metal sputtering targets are generally a product in which a pure metal of the same element is pressed and formed by forging or casting. The reason why pure metal is used is that sputter deposition has higher requirements on its raw materials (generally 2N~5N, strictly 6N), and the purity of the sputter coater target directly affects the purity of the coating.
Tantalum is a rare metal material with a content of only 0.0002% in the earth's crust, and because of the wide range of applications of Ta, the pure tantalum on the market is often in short supply, and the price naturally rises. The purity requirements of tantalum sputter targets in the coating industry are generally 99.9~99.999%, so pure tantalum must be purchased. However, in addition to this special industry, other industries do not have such high requirements for the purity of tantalum, so recycling tantalum actually has a wide range of applications and many needs.
It is a good method to use the used tantalum target for the recovery of tantalum metal. On the one hand, the purity of the sputtering material is high, so the process of recovering the relatively high purity tantalum is simpler; On the other hand, the utilization rate of the planar metal target is not high, and the used target is a good raw material for recovering tantalum and can obtain as much tantalum as possible.
The sale of discarded (waste) tantalum sputtering targets to the scrap metal market for recycling has created an important source of tantalum metal for industrial needs. Medical implants, electronic alloys, turbine alloys, and tooling industries all have a large demand for recycling tantalum. The recycling of this supply chain is important for these markets, and if this supply is no longer available, then these industries will have to buy pure tantalum from tantalum metal producers. Without constraints and competition, tantalum metal producers have full control over prices. Tantalum prices may soar in the event of a supply shortage.
In many cases, tantalum metal producers do not use used tantalum targets directly to produce new ingots and billets. The reason we mentioned at the outset is - recycling tantalum does not meet the demanding requirements of the sputter coater industry for its purity. But the recovered waste tantalum is pure enough for other industries. When these industries buy properly processed tantalum waste instead of pure tantalum, they can save a lot of money.
For more information about sputtering target reclaim service, please visit https://www.sputtertargets.net/reclaim-service.html.
