Tantalum is the third most refractory metal after tungsten and rhenium, with a melting point of 2980℃. In addition, tantalum possesses a series of excellent properties, including low vapor pressure, good cold workability, high chemical stability, strong resistance to liquid metal corrosion, and a high dielectric constant. It also has a surface oxide film. Therefore, tantalum and tantalum wire have important applications in high-tech fields such as solid alloys, atomic energy, superconducting technology, automotive electronics, aerospace, medical and health care, and scientific research. We will learn about the classification and applications of tantalum wire.
Tantalum wire can be classified according to its chemical purity, properties, applications, and state. 1. Tantalum wire can be divided into three categories according to its purity: metallurgical tantalum wire (99.0% Ta purity); high-purity tantalum wire (99.0%-99.9% Ta purity); and ultra-high-purity tantalum wire (99.9%-99.99% Ta purity). 2. Tantalum wire can be divided into four categories according to its properties: chemically resistant tantalum wire; high-temperature resistant high-strength tantalum wire; oxygen-resistant tantalum wire; and capacitor tantalum wire. 3. Tantalum wire for capacitors is classified into three categories according to its application: tantalum wire for solid tantalum electrolytic capacitor leads; tantalum wire for liquid tantalum electrolytic capacitor leads; and tantalum wire for capacitors with reliability indicators. According to its state, tantalum wire for capacitors can be divided into three categories: soft state, tensile strength σb = 300～600MPa; semi-hard state, tensile strength σb = 600～1000MPa; and hard state, tensile strength σb > 1000MPa.
Applications of Tantalum Wire 1. Tantalum wire is most widely used in the electronics industry, mainly for the anode leads of tantalum electrolytic capacitors. Tantalum capacitors are the best capacitors, and approximately 65% of the world's tantalum is used in this field. 2. Tantalum wire can be used for muscle tissue compensation and sutures for nerves and tendons. 3. Tantalum wire can be used in heating components of vacuum high-temperature furnaces. 4. High oxidation-resistant tantalum wire can also be used to make tantalum foil capacitors. It can operate in potassium dichromate at high temperatures (100℃) and extremely high flash voltages (350V). 5. In addition, tantalum wire can also be used as a vacuum electron cathode emitter, ion sputtering, and spraying material.
Due to the dense and stable oxide film that can form on the surface of tantalum, it has high dielectric strength, making it easy and convenient to control the anodizing process of capacitors accurately and conveniently. Simultaneously, tantalum powder sintered blocks can obtain a large surface area in a small volume, thus tantalum capacitors have advantages such as high capacitance, low leakage current, low equivalent series resistance, long service life, and excellent overall performance. Tantalum capacitors are widely used in communications (switches, mobile phones, pagers, fax machines, etc.), computers, automobiles, home and office appliances, instruments, aerospace, defense, and military industries, among other industrial and scientific sectors.
In the chemical industry, tantalum can replace stainless steel in equipment used to produce various inorganic acids, increasing the equipment's lifespan by tens of times. Stainless steel is also used. Tantalum oxide is used to manufacture advanced optical glass and catalysts. In the field of cemented carbide, tantalum carbide can be used to manufacture cemented carbides. Adding a certain amount of tantalum carbide to titanium carbide-containing cemented carbides not only improves the room temperature strength of the cemented carbide but, more importantly, improves its bending strength at 1200℃. In addition, tantalum carbide-containing cemented carbide exhibits good weldability and is less prone to cracking during sharpening, thus improving its performance. Milling inserts should contain a higher content of tantalum carbide to ensure high tip strength and better adaptability to the impacts and temperature variations during interrupted cutting. In the aerospace and military fields, tantalum-tungsten, tantalum-tungsten-hafnium, and tantalum-hafnium alloys are used as heat-resistant, high-strength materials for rockets, missiles, and jet engines, as well as components for control and regulation equipment. In the healthcare field, tantalum and its alloys can be used as materials for orthopedic and surgical procedures. For example, tantalum bars can be used to replace human bones, and muscles can also grow on tantalum bars.
