Rare earth elements play a critical role in modern technology, impacting everything from electric vehicles, smartphones, and televisions to medical imaging systems, radar detection, and nuclear control rods. Despite the name, rare earths are not actually rare—many are more abundant in the Earth's crust than commonly used elements like copper or lead, with average concentrations ranging from 130 to 240 mg/kg. The term "rare earth" stems from the historical difficulty in separating these chemically similar elements, a challenge that still affects global production and refinement due to the technical and economic complexities involved. At LTS Research Laboratories, Inc., we supply high-purity rare earth metals, oxides, alloys, and compounds specifically designed for evaporation deposition and other thin film applications. Our materials are engineered to minimize surface oxidation and porosity, reducing the risk of spitting and particle ejection during deposition. This results in cleaner, more uniform coatings across substrates. We offer rare earth deposition materials in a variety of forms, including granules, pieces, pellets, and powders. Custom geometries and compositions are available upon request. Whether you are working with lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, ytterbium, or other rare earths, LTS ensures precise material preparation to meet the demanding requirements of vacuum deposition, e-beam systems, and optical thin films.
