Niobium Target Production Process

1. Raw Material Refining & Alloy Design
Niobium target manufacturing begins with high-purity Nb₂O₅ ore reduction using vacuum carbon thermal reduction (1,800–2,000°C, 10⁻³ Pa) to achieve 99.5% purity, with Ta and Fe impurities <500 ppm. For specialized applications like PVD coatings, Mo-10Nb alloy targets are prepared by blending niobium powder with molybdenum under argon shielding, followed by hydrogenation-dehydrogenation (HDH) to refine particle size to 10–50 μm. Acid leaching with HF/HNO₃ solutions (60–80°C) removes surface oxides, ensuring oxygen content <300 ppm.

2. Powder Consolidation & HIP Optimization
Cold isostatic pressing (CIP) at 300 MPa forms green compacts with >98% density uniformity. For high-density niobium targets, hot isostatic pressing (HIP) at 1,200–1,300°C and 150 MPa eliminates microvoids, achieving >99% theoretical density—critical for minimizing arcing in 3nm semiconductor sputtering. Alloy targets undergo vacuum sintering (1,400–1,600°C, 10⁻⁴ Pa) to homogenize Mo-Nb phases, enhancing thermal stability for optical coating applications.

3. Thermomechanical Processing & Quality Assurance
Hot rolling at 900°C (60% thickness reduction) refines grain size to <30 μm, while multi-stage annealing (1,000–1,100°C, argon) eliminates residual stress. Precision CNC machining achieves surface roughness Ra <0.8 μm and ±0.05 mm edge tolerance, essential for large-area magnetron sputtering systems.

Fortu Tech can produce and process niobium alloys billet, niobium alloys sheet, niobium alloys foil, niobium alloys plate, niobium alloys rod, niobium alloys wire, niobium alloys tubes.