Sputtering Targets

Materials · PVD targets · JX Advanced Metals, Tosoh, Solstice, Materion, Konfoong

Sputtering targets are a concentrated business with a more concentrated upstream. JX Advanced Metals made 64% of the world's semiconductor targets in 2023, and the metals inside them come mainly from Congo (tantalum and cobalt), China (tungsten, over 80%) and South Africa (ruthenium).

JX Advanced Metals of Japan held 64% of the world market for semiconductor sputtering targets in 2023, by Fuji Keizai's count; all other makers shared 36%. The metals in the targets come from concentrated sources: tantalum mainly from Congo, tungsten over 80% from China, ruthenium as a platinum-group byproduct mostly from South Africa, and cobalt mainly from Congo. SEMICONDUCTOR SPUTTERING TARGETS, 2023 SHARE OF WORLD MARKET, FUJI KEIZAI JX Advanced Metals 64% All others 36% OTHERS INCLUDE TOSOH, SOLSTICE (EX-HONEYWELL), MATERION, ULVAC, PLANSEE, KONFOONG WHERE THE TARGET METALS COME FROM Tantalum BARRIER UNDER COPPER WIRING CONGO MINED 1,300 T OF 2025 OUTPUT; US 100% IMPORT-RELIANT Tungsten CONTACTS AND LINERS CHINA OVER 80% OF SUPPLY; EXPORTS LICENSED SINCE FEB 2025 Ruthenium LINERS AND NEXT METAL LINES PGM BYPRODUCT, MOSTLY SOUTH AFRICA; PRICE TRIPLED IN A YEAR Copper SEED LAYER FOR EVERY WIRING LEVEL WIDELY MINED; 6N-7N REFINING IS SPECIALIZED Titanium TI AND TIN BARRIERS HIGH-PURITY SPONGE FROM FEW MAKERS Cobalt CONTACTS AND LINERS CONGO MINES MOST COBALT SOURCES: JX RESULTS (NOV 2025); USGS 2026; TRENDFORCE; REUTERS (MARCH 2026).
JX target share
64% (2023)
JX target volume
+17%
Konfoong targets, 2025
RMB 2.85B
Ruthenium, Mar 2026
~$1,750/oz
US tantalum imports
100%
Hub
Materials

Market

One Company Makes About Two-Thirds of Chip Sputtering Targets

JX Advanced Metals leads; Tosoh, Solstice, Materion and Konfoong follow.

Sputtering target market markers
MeasureFigureSource
JX Advanced Metals share of semiconductor targets, 202364%, firstFuji Keizai, cited by JX, November 2025
JX semiconductor target volume, April to September 2025Up 17% from a year earlierJX Advanced Metals results, November 2025
JX semiconductor materials revenue, same period¥83.1B, up 13%JX Advanced Metals results, November 2025
Konfoong target revenue, 2025RMB 2.85B, up 22%Konfoong 2025 annual results
Solstice Spokane Valley expansion$200M; target capacity doubled by end of 2029Solstice, December 2025

A sputtering target is the metal source for physical vapor deposition (PVD): a disc or plate of ultra-pure metal or compound that argon ions erode atom by atom onto the wafer. Every copper wiring level starts with a PVD barrier and seed layer, so target demand rises with metal layers and wafer starts. The PVD tools themselves are on Deposition Equipment.

Target materials

Copper, Tantalum and Titanium Carry Most Wiring Films

Target materials and their films
TargetFilm and usePurityTrend
Copper and copper alloysSeed layer for damascene wiring; packaging RDL and TSV seed6N-7NHighest-volume target
TantalumTaN/Ta barrier under copper4N5-5NShrinking share of the trench at small pitches
TitaniumTi/TiN barriers and contact liners; metal gate layers5N-6NSteady
TungstenContact liners, gate electrodes5N-6NSteady; China supplies most tungsten
CobaltContact and liner layers in advanced logic5NUsed at Intel since 10nm
Aluminum and alloysBond pads, mature-node wiring5N-6NLarge mature-node volume
Ruthenium, molybdenumLiners and fills for the tightest metal lines5N+Rising at 2nm-class nodes
Nickel, platinum, cobalt alloysSilicide contacts; magnetic layers for MRAM and disk drives4N-5NMRAM and HDD demand

How targets are made

Grain Structure Matters as Much as Purity

How a sputtering target is made and used. Metal is refined to 99.999 to 99.99999% purity, formed by casting and forging or by pressing powder to set its grain structure, machined to the shape of a specific PVD chamber, bonded to a backing plate, then cleaned and packed. In the chamber, argon ions knock atoms off the target onto the wafer. The spent target, with much of its metal still unused, goes back to the maker for recycling. FROM REFINED METAL TO PVD CHAMBER AND BACK Refine METAL PURIFIED TO 5N-7N BY ELECTROLYSIS, ELECTRON-BEAM OR ZONE MELTING Form CAST AND FORGED, OR PRESSED FROM POWDER, TO SET GRAIN SIZE AND DENSITY Machine CUT TO THE EXACT SHAPE OF THE PVD CHAMBER'S CATHODE Bond JOINED TO A COPPER OR ALUMINUM BACKING PLATE Pack CLEANED, INSPECTED AND PACKED IN VACUUM Sputter ARGON IONS KNOCK ATOMS OFF THE TARGET ONTO THE WAFER Reclaim SPENT TARGET, WITH MUCH OF ITS METAL UNUSED, GOES BACK FOR RECYCLING RECYCLED METAL RETURNS TO REFINING SCHEMATIC. EACH TARGET IS QUALIFIED FOR ONE TOOL MODEL AND ONE FILM.

Target making is specialty metallurgy, not metal trading. Purity alone does not qualify a target: grain size, texture and density decide how evenly it sputters and how many particles it sheds, and each target is cut for one chamber design. Spent targets go back to the maker because only part of the metal is consumed, and Solstice and JX both run recycling lines for customer-returned targets.

Target makers

Japanese and US Makers Supply Most Targets Outside China

  • Made in US
  • Some US volume
  • US planned
  • Made abroad
Sputtering target makers
CompanyHeadquartersTargetsPositionUS status
JX Advanced MetalsTokyo, JapanCopper, tantalum, titanium, cobalt and other targets64% of semiconductor targets (2023); Mesa, AZ plant opened Nov 2024Made in US
Tosoh (Tosoh SMD)Tokyo, JapanCopper, titanium, aluminum, tantalum targetsMajor Japanese supplier; US plant in Grove City, OHMade in US
Solstice Advanced MaterialsMorris Plains, NJCopper, titanium, tantalum targets (ex-Honeywell Electronic Materials)$200M Spokane Valley, WA expansionMade in US
MaterionMayfield Heights, OHPrecious and specialty metal targetsUS-based specialty makerSome US volume
ULVACChigasaki, JapanTargets and PVD toolsJapanese supplier with tool businessMade abroad
PlanseeReutte, AustriaTungsten and molybdenum targetsRefractory metal specialistMade abroad
Konfoong (KFMI)Ningbo, ChinaAluminum, titanium, tantalum, copper targetsChina's leader; RMB 2.85B target revenue in 2025Made abroad
GRIKINBeijing, ChinaTargets for chips and displaysState-owned GRINM groupMade abroad

JX Advanced Metals, listed in Tokyo since March 2025, sells nearly two of every three semiconductor targets. Tosoh, Solstice and Materion are the main alternatives outside China. Konfoong of Ningbo has grown with Chinese fabs and supplies some foreign fabs. Target makers also supply chamber parts: Konfoong's precision components business brought in RMB 1.08B in 2025.

Metal supply

The Metals Come From Congo, China and South Africa

The target makers are mostly Japanese and American; the metals are not. A 2nm-class wiring stack depends on mines and refineries in a handful of countries:

  • Tantalum: Congo mined 1,300 t in 2025, more than Rwanda (400 t), Nigeria (390 t), Brazil (190 t) and China (80 t) combined. The US has mined none since 1959 and imports all of it (USGS).
  • Tungsten: China supplied over 80% in 2023 and has required export licenses for tungsten items since February 2025, along with tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium.
  • Ruthenium: a byproduct of platinum-group mining, mostly in South Africa. It hit a record of about $1,750 an ounce in March 2026, up from $560 a year earlier, on disk drive and data center demand; Metals Focus forecasts a 203,000-ounce deficit in 2026.
  • Cobalt: mined mostly in Congo and refined mostly in China.

The upstream metals are covered on Critical Elements.

US production

US Plants Make the Targets but Import the Metals

The US makes targets but not most of their metals. JX Advanced Metals opened a plant in Mesa, Arizona in November 2024 that machines and inspects targets near TSMC Arizona. Solstice Advanced Materials, spun off from Honeywell, is putting $200M into its Spokane Valley, Washington plant to double target capacity by the end of 2029 and recycle customer metal. Tosoh SMD makes targets in Grove City, Ohio. The tantalum, cobalt and ruthenium in those targets are imported.

China

China Has Its Own Target Makers and Controls Tungsten

China has its own target makers in Konfoong and GRIKIN and supplies the tungsten in most targets worldwide. Konfoong's target revenue grew 22% in 2025 to RMB 2.85B, about $400M. Its tungsten and molybdenum export licensing gives Beijing leverage over target makers outside China that buy Chinese powder and ingot.

Record

Page Record

Covers
Sputtering target market, target materials and films, target manufacturing and recycling, target makers and US status, tantalum, tungsten, ruthenium and cobalt supply, US production, China
Sources
JX Advanced Metals FY2025 second-quarter results presentation (November 11, 2025; share from Fuji Keizai, 2023 sales); Investment Monitor on JX Mesa (November 2024); iConnect007 on the Solstice Spokane expansion (December 26, 2025); Eastmoney on Konfoong 2025 results (April 2026); USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, tantalum; TrendForce on China's February 2025 metal export controls; Reuters via Kitco on ruthenium (March 16, 2026); vendor product pages
Last verified
October 2026