Top Industries purchasing Thulium (Tm)

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Top Industries purchasing Thulium (Tm)

Thulium is one of the least abundant and most difficult to separate rare earth elements.

Rank	Industry	Volume (MT)	% Usage	Primary Applications
1	Medical Devices (Surgical)	~22.50	45.0%	Thulium-doped fiber lasers (TFL) for urology/lithotripsy.
2	Medical Imaging (Diagnostic)	~12.50	25.0%	Tm-170 isotopes for portable X-ray sources and screens.
3	Scientific Research / R&D	~6.00	12.0%	Upconversion phosphors and high-field magnetic studies.
4	Electronics & Semiconductors	~3.50	7.0%	Dopants for high-k dielectrics and ferrites.
5	Aerospace & Defense	~2.50	5.0%	Laser rangefinders and night vision sensor components.
6	Telecommunications	~1.50	3.0%	Thulium-doped fiber amplifiers (TDFA) for S-band signals.
7	Laser Technology (Industrial)	~0.75	1.5%	Precision micromachining and plastic welding lasers.
8	Nuclear Energy	~0.25	0.5%	Radiation monitoring and neutron-absorbing tracers.
9	Lighting (High-Intensity)	~0.15	0.3%	Specialized arc lamps with high-color-rendering indices.
10	Counterfeit Protection	~0.10	0.2%	UV-fluorescent thulium inks for high-security banknotes.
11	Metallurgy & Alloys	~0.05	0.1%	Grain-refining additives for magnesium alloys.
12	Quantum Computing	~0.05	0.1%	Qubits in thulium-doped crystals for quantum memory.
13	Dentistry	~0.05	0.1%	Thulium lasers for soft-tissue oral surgery.
14	Ceramics Engineering	~0.05	0.1%	Magnetic ceramics and specialized optical glazes.
15	Environmental Monitoring	Trace	<0.1%	Portable radiation detection units.
16	Astronomy & Space	Trace	<0.1%	Calibration for deep-space spectrometer sensors.
17	Marine Technology	Trace	<0.1%	Underwater laser communication research.
18	Chemical Synthesis	Trace	Trace	Specialized Lewis acid catalysts in organic chemistry.
19	Advanced Textiles	Trace	Trace	Infrared-reflective coatings for protective gear.
20	Artificial Intelligence	Trace	Trace	Emerging photonics-based AI hardware.

Major Individual Company Purchasers

• Boston Scientific: A world leader in urology devices; they are a major purchaser of Thulium-doped fiber lasers used for treating kidney stones and prostate enlargement (BPH).
• IPG Photonics: The dominant global manufacturer of fiber lasers. They purchase Thulium oxide to create the high-power thulium fiber lasers used in medical and industrial cutting applications.
• Olympus Corporation: A primary purchaser of Thulium-based medical imaging and surgical technology, particularly for endourology platforms.
• Lumenis (subsidiary of Boston Scientific): One of the largest purchasers of Thulium for its "Moses" and "Pulse" laser systems used in hospitals worldwide.
• GE HealthCare: Utilizes Thulium in specialized medical diagnostic equipment, particularly in the production of high-sensitivity X-ray intensifying screens.
• Raytheon Technologies (RTX): A key purchaser for the defense sector, using Thulium in specialized laser rangefinders and optical countermeasures for aircraft.
• Heraeus Precious Metals: A leading global distributor and processor that purchases Thulium oxide to supply the pharmaceutical and electronics industries with high-purity salts.
• Coherent Corp. (formerly II-VI): A major purchaser for the telecommunications and semiconductor industries, using Thulium to produce fiber amplifiers and optical components.
• Sinomine Resource Group: While a producer, Sinomine is also a major industrial actor that purchases and processes raw thulium concentrates for high-purity chemical conversion for global tech firms.

Caution: This content was sourced and arranged by AI and thus may be subject to errors, biases, omissions, or antiquation.
This information can provide a general sense of industry dynamics, but may be unreliable in its specifics, or as an isolated basis for investment decisions.