Year in Review: 2018 Top Posts Collection

Happy New Year in 2019! We are very happy with your company and encouragement that push us to insist on updating every week. On the occasion of the arrival of 2019, let us summarize the Top Posts in 2018 for you.

Metal History

“Metal History” is a popular column we have opened this year, aiming at introducing the discovery of different kinds of metals. Among them, the Top 3 posts in this column are as follows:

How was titanium discovered? | History of Titanium

Titanium is a metal element that is known as “space metal” because of its light weight, high strength and good corrosion resistance. The most common compound of titanium is titanium dioxide, and other compounds include titanium tetrachloride and titanium trichloride. Click the title of the article to know more.

Discovery and development of tungsten | History of Tungsten

The history of tungsten dates back to the 17th century. At that time, miners in the Erzgebirge Mountains of Saxony, Germany, noticed that some of the ore would interfere with the reduction of cassiterite and produce slag. The miners gave the mines some German nicknames: “wolfert” and “wolfrahm”. Click the title of the article to know more.

How was cerium discovered? | History of Cerium

Cerium is the most abundant rare earth elements. It is a silvery gray active metal, whose powder is easily oxidized in the air and soluble in acid. Cerium has been widely used in the automotive industry as a catalyst to reduce emission, and in glass industry as glass polishing materials. Cerium sputtering target is an important material in optical coating. Click the title of the article to know more. Click the title of the article to know more.

Metal Materials Application

Apart from history, we also introduce the multiple applications of these metal materials. Among them, the Top 3 posts in this column are as follows:

Molybdenum Target Mammography Detection

At present, molybdenum target mammography is considered the recommended breast screening examinations for women’s breast cancer, one of the major causes of deaths among women, affects about 12% of women around the world. Click the title of the article to know more.

Application of titanium and titanium alloys in medical field

Titanium is an ideal medical metal material and can be used as an implant for the human body. Titanium alloy has been widely used in the medical field and has become the material of choice for medical products. Click the title of the article to know more.

A short analysis of sputtering targets for semiconductor application

Semiconductors have high requirements for the quality and purity of the sputtering materials, which explains why the price of anelva targets is relatively high. Click the title of the article to know more.

Sputtering Targets

Sputtering Target is the consistent keyword of our website, and thus we have shared many useful information about some specific type of sputtering targets. Our intention is to help you better understand these materials—their properties, applications, developing prospect and so on. And the followings are the posts you really have to read. Among them, the Top 3 posts in this column are as follows:

PVD vs. CVD: What’s the difference?

In recent years, physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (PVD) have wide applications in various industries to increase the hardness of tools and molds or apply beautiful colors to the products. Thus these two methods are considered as the most attractive surface coating technologies. Click the title of the article to know more.

What is the Indium Bonding for Sputtering Target?

The term “indium bonding” in thin film coating industry, simply speaking, refers to bond two (or more) sputtering targets with indium (In), or one (or more) with indium plate together. Click the title of the article to know more.

What is Target Poisoning in Sputtering Deposition?

At some stage in the sputtering deposition, positive ions are continuously amassed on the surface of the sputtering target. Due to the fact that those fantastic ions aren’t neutralized, the negative bias of the target surface gradually decreases, and progressively the normal operation can not be completed. This is the target poisoning phenomenon. Click the title of the article to know more.

Glad you are part of SAM’s 2018. Next year, please continue following us and we promise to give you more valuable information! Also, you can visit our official website https://www.sputtertargets.net/ for more information.

Application of titanium and titanium alloys in medical field

Titanium is an ideal medical metal material and can be used as an implant for human body. Titanium alloy has been widely used in the medical field and has become the material of choice for medical products such as artificial joints, bone trauma, spinal orthopedic internal fixation systems, dental implants, artificial heart valves, interventional cardiovascular stents, and surgical instruments.

Application of titanium alloy in facial treatment

When the human face is severely damaged, local tissue repair should be treated by surgical implantation. Titanium alloy has good biocompatibility and required strength, so it is an ideal material for facial tissue repair. The skull bracket made of pure titanium mesh has been widely used in the reconstruction of the humerus and has achieved good clinical results.

titanium mesh
titanium mesh

Application of titanium in the pharmaceutical industry

SAM®Titanium is mainly used in the pharmaceutical industry for making containers, reactors, and heaters. Equipment used in the production of pharmaceuticals is often exposed to inorganic acids, organic acids, and salts, such as hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid. Therefore, these devices are easily damaged by long-term corrosion. On the other hand, steel equipment will introduce iron ions that affect product quality.

These problems can be solved with titanium equipment. For example, a penicillin esterification kettle, a saccharification tank, a chloramphenicol thin film evaporator, a dimethyl sulfate cooler, a chemical liquid filter, all have precedents for selecting a titanium material.

Application of titanium in medical devices

In the history of the development of surgical instruments, the first generation of surgical instruments was mostly made of carbon steel, which was eliminated because the performance of carbon steel instruments after electroplating did not meet the clinical requirements. The second generation is austenitic, ferritic and martensitic stainless steel surgical instruments. However, due to the toxicity of chromium in the stainless steel composition, the chrome-plated layer has a certain influence on the human body. Therefore, the third generation–titanium surgical instrument appeared.

titanium surgical blades
titanium surgical blades

The lightweight and high strength of titanium make it particularly suitable for microsurgery. Titanium has the advantages of corrosion resistance, good elasticity, and no deformation; even after repeated cleaning and disinfection, the surface quality of titanium is not affected; titanium is non-magnetic and does not pose a threat to tiny, sensitive implanted electronic devices. These advantages make the application of titanium surgical instruments more and more extensive. At present, titanium has been used to make surgical blades, hemostats, scissors, electric drills, tweezers and so on.

Application of titanium and titanium alloys in dentistry

Metals used in dental surgery began with amalgams and metal crowns in the 1920s. In the 1960s, gold, silver, and palladium alloys were mainly used. After the 1970s, stainless steel became the most commonly used material for permanent and detachable instruments for orthodontics. In the 1990s, titanium casting technology was promoted and applied.

titanium dental implant
titanium dental implant

Titanium has the characteristics of high dimensional accuracy, no bubbles, and shrinkage holes. Among the metal materials used for hard tissue repair in the human body, the elastic modulus of titanium is closest to human tissue, which can reduce the mechanical incompatibility between the metal implant and the bone tissue.

Please visit https://www.sputtertargets.net/ for more information.

Quick link to related titanium products:

Titanium (Ti) Sputtering Target

Planar Titanium (Ti) Sputtering Target

Rotatory Titanium (Ti) Sputtering Target

How was aluminum discovered?| History of Aluminum

AluminumDiscovery

Humphry Davy
Humphry Davy

Compared with other metal elements we discussed about before, Aluminum is discovered much later. In 1808, the British chemist Sir Humphry Davy confirmed the existence of alum and named the substance to Alumium (later changed to Aluminum).

In 1825, Danish chemist and physicist Hans Christian Ørsted began experimenting about aluminum extraction. However, it was not until 1827 that Friedrich Wöhler reduced the molten anhydrous aluminum chloride with potassium metal to obtain a purer metallic aluminum element.

As precious as gold

However, as Wöhler’s method could not yield great quantities of aluminium, the metal remained rare; its cost exceeded that of gold. It is for this reason that aluminum was in a high position at that time. It is said that at a banquet, the French emperor Napoleon used aluminum knives and forks alone, while others used silver tableware. Also, the king of Thailand once used an aluminum bracelet.

Mass production

Charles Martin Hall
Charles Martin Hall

In 1886, French engineer Paul Héroult and American engineer Charles Martin Hall, respectively, independently electrolyzed a mixture of molten bauxite and cryolite to produce metal aluminum, which laid the foundation for large-scale production of aluminum in the future. Since then, the status of aluminum has changed completely, mainly in two aspects: first, it is mass-produced and is no longer regarded as a precious metal; the mass production of aluminum in industrial and domestic applications has gradually replaced the use of other metals such as steel and copper in many fields.

Application Prospect

At present, the aluminum industry has problems such as overcapacity and insufficient utilization, so the development prospects of the aluminum industry in the short term are not optimistic.

However, due to the abundant reserves of aluminum in the earth’s crust and the advantages over other metal elements, aluminum will have extremely broad application prospects in the future. For example, automakers are currently exploring the use of large-area aluminum alloy instead of steel to make the car lighter.

With the advancement of technology, aluminum alloy products will not only grow rapidly in traditional applications such as aerospace, transportation, electronic power, and construction, but will also grow rapidly in other new fields.

 

This is a history column of SAM Sputter Target, aiming at introducing the history of different metals. If you are a metal lover or history lover, you can follow our website. For previous posts of this column please search the keyword “history”.

 

Please visit https://www.sputtertargets.net/ for more information.

How was niobium discovered? | History of Niobium

Last week, we talked about the discovery of Titanium, which raised many interest. So we decide to start a history column, aiming at introducing the discovery of different kinds of metals. If you are a metal lover or history lover, you can follow our website. For previous posts of this column please search the keyword “history”. So let’s get down to the point. Today SAM Sputter Targets will teach you the history lesson of Niobium.

niobium hostorySAM®Niobium, often found in the minerals pyrochlore and columbite, is a silver-gray, soft and ductile rare metal with high melting point. At normal temperature, niobium does not react with air, but it can directly combine with sulfur, nitrogen and carbon at high temperatures to form NbS2, NbN and NbC. Niobium does not react with inorganic acids or alkalis, and is insoluble in aqua regia, but soluble in hydrofluoric acid. Because of its good superconductivity, high melting point, corrosion resistance and wear resistance, niobium is widely used in steel, superconducting materials, aerospace, atomic energy and other fields.

Continue reading “How was niobium discovered? | History of Niobium”

Application of molybdenum in metal smelting

Compared to metals such as titanium, aluminum and platinum, molybdenum does not seem to be as famous, but it is also a very widely used metal in our life. So in the next few weeks, SAM Sputter Targets will introduce different applications of molybdenum. If you are interested in metals, please follow us for subsequent updates. Today we will first introduce the application of molybdenum in metal smelting.

Molybdenum
Molybdenum

Steel

The main use of molybdenum is to produce various types of steel and alloys. The addition of molybdenum (mainly in the form of ferromolybdenum, molybdenum oxide and calcium molybdate) to a range of steels such as structural steel, spring steel, bearing steel, tool steel, stainless steel and magnetic steel can significantly improve the properties of steel. Molybdenum improves the hardenability, toughness and heat strength of steel and prevents temper brittleness. Molybdenum also improves the corrosion resistance of steel to certain media so that it does not pitting. The addition of molybdenum to the cast iron enhances the strength and wear resistance of the cast iron.

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How was titanium discovered? | History of Titanium

Titanium historySAM®Titanium is a metal element that is known as “space metal” because of its light weight, high strength and good corrosion resistance. The most common compound of titanium is titanium dioxide, and other compounds include titanium tetrachloride and titanium trichloride. At present, titanium is widely used in aerospace, automotive, medical, marine and other fields. Its abundant reserves provide a resource base for the wide application of titanium – titanium is one of the most widely distributed and abundant elements in the earth’s crust, accounting for 0.16% of the crustal mass, ranking ninth. However, do you know how this magical element was discovered? Let SAM Sputter Targets give you a history lesson.

Continue reading “How was titanium discovered? | History of Titanium”