Tantalum in Electronics

The electronics industry is booming. The current high-growth environment is poised to continue for some time, driven by a wide variety of technologies like 5G and telecommunications, high-end graphics, hardcore mining processing, wearable devices, remote computing, AI, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) sensors, and so on. Tantalum in various forms is used in the devices supporting these electronics market segments. Those companies that produce the devices have developed confidence in a reliable and stable supply of tantalum through a globally diverse supply chain with suppliers ranging from six (6) continents and over 31 countries. Further confidence is found in existing and emerging stable tantalum ore sources to feed the growing tantalum and electronics demand – for additional details, read “Tantalum for a Lifetime” here Articles – Global Advanced Metals.

Thanks to its unique properties, tantalum is used in electronics circuitry in various forms, products, and applications. The three primary devices in which tantalum is used in the electronics industry are capacitors, semiconductors, and surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters. A brief description of each follows:

• Capacitors: today’s tantalum capacitors can store more energy in smaller devices than any other type of capacitor (high capacitance in small case sizes or volumetric efficiency) while providing high reliability, low direct current (DC) leakage, low equivalent series resistance (ESR) across harsh operating environments. A capacitor is a passive component that can provide DC blocking, output smoothing, frequency tuning, and/or voltage stabilization in a circuit. A capacitor consists of an anode and a cathode separated by a dielectric. In the case of a tantalum capacitor, the anode is tantalum, the cathode can be manganese dioxide (MnO2) or conductive polymer, and the dielectric is tantalum pentoxide with tantalum wire connecting the anode to the circuit.
• Thin film in Semiconductors: without tantalum, semiconductors would malfunction. The semiconductor manufacturing process uses physical vapor deposition (PVD) to sputter tantalum atoms off a tantalum target onto the semiconductor wafer, creating a thin film. This thin film of tantalum provides a barrier to prevent the diffusion of copper atoms into the silicon wafer. The tantalum film used in semiconductors comes in various forms like tantalum nitride silicide, tantalum nitride carbide, and others. Tantalum is the preferred material for the PVD process in semiconductor manufacturing due to the tantalum-based films having high thermal stability, high conductivity, and superior corrosion resistance.
• SAW filters: thanks to the tantalum content, SAW filters make audio for electronic devices clear and crisp. Lithium tantalate single crystals are used to create SAW filters for use in smartphones, hi-fi stereos, tablet PCs, notebooks, televisions, and other audio applications. The lithium tantalate compound finds favor in this application thanks to the electronic signal wave dampening and frequency control capabilities providing superior audio output.

The broader electronics industry grew at a 2.1% rate in 2020 and is forecast to grow at a 15.6% clip in 2021 per VLSI Research. The strong 2021 growth is mainly on the back of computers, 5G telecommunications, the electrification of the automobile – both electric vehicles and increased semiconductor content inside – wearable health devices, data storage and solid state drives (SSD’s) and others. Tantalum holds a strong presence in all of the technologies driving growth from 2020 to 2030+.