Fabrication of 4N5 Grade Tantalum Wire from Tantalum Scrap by EBM and Drawing

Electron beam melting(EBM) is a useful technique to obtain high-purity metal ingots. It is also used for melting refractory metals such as tantalum, which require melting techniques employing a high-energy heat source. Drawing is a method which is used to convert the ingot into a wire shape. The required thickness of the wire is achieved by drawing the ingot from a drawing die with a hole of similar size. This process is used to achieve high purity tantalum springs, which are an essential component of lithography lamp in semiconductor manufacturing process. Moreover, high-purity tantalum is used in other applications such as sputtering targets for semiconductors. Studies related to recycling of tantalum from these components have not been carried outuntil now. The recycling of tantalum is vital for environmental and economic reasons. In order to obtain high-purity tantalum ingot, in this study impurities contained in the scrap were removed by electron beam melting after pre-treatment using aqua regia. The purity of the ingot was then analyzed to be more than 4N5 (99.995%). Subsequently, drawing was performed using the rod melted by electron beam melting. Owing to continuous drawing, the diameter of the tantalum wire decreased to 0.5 mm from 9 mm. The hardness and oxygen concentration of the tantalum ingot were 149 Hv and less than 300 ppm, respectively, whereas the hardness of the tantalum wire was 232.12 Hv. In conclusion, 4N5 grade tantalum wire was successfully fabricated from tantalum scrap by EBM and drawing techniques. Furthermore, procedure to successfully recycle Tantalum from scraps was established.