The uses and application fields of tantalum

Tantalum, a metallic element with the chemical symbol Ta, is a steel gray metal belonging to the VB family in the periodic table. It has an atomic number of 73 and an atomic weight of 180.9479. It is a body centered cubic crystal with a common valence of+5. Mainly present in tantalum iron ore, coexisting with niobium.

Chemical Property

Tantalum is one of the rare metal mineral resources and an indispensable strategic raw material for the development of electronic industry and space technology.

Tantalum has moderate hardness and high ductility, and can be drawn into thin foil in the form of fine wires. Its coefficient of thermal expansion is very small. Tantalum has excellent chemical properties and extremely high corrosion resistance. Although tantalum has strong corrosion resistance, its corrosion resistance is due to the formation of a stable tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) protective film on the surface. Under both cold and hot conditions, it does not react with hydrochloric acid, concentrated nitric acid, or aqua regia. It can be used to manufacture evaporative vessels, as well as electrodes, rectifiers, and electrolytic capacitors for electronic tubes. Used in medicine to make thin sheets or threads, to repair damaged tissues.

Application Fields Of Tantalum

The characteristics of tantalum make its application fields very broad. A series of excellent properties, including high melting point, low steam pressure, good cold working performance, high chemical stability, strong resistance to liquid metal corrosion, and large dielectric constant of surface oxide film. Therefore, tantalum has important applications in high-tech fields such as electronics, metallurgy, steel, chemical industry, hard alloys, atomic energy, superconducting technology, automotive electronics, aerospace, medical and health, and scientific research.

Tantalum Capacitor

Tantalum capacitors are made by processing rare metal tantalum, which is first ground into fine powder and then sintered together with other media. There are currently two types of processes: dry powder forming method and wet powder forming method. Tantalum capacitors, due to the inherent nature of metallic tantalum, have the characteristics of being stable, not changing with the environment, and able to achieve large capacitance values. In some aspects, they have some characteristics that cannot be compared with ceramic capacitors. Therefore, tantalum capacitors are widely used in many circuits where ceramic capacitors cannot be used.