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Rare Earth Elements: Finding Components That Minimize Impacts from Trade Restrictions
The supply of rare earth elements that are critical to manufacturing electronic components is being constrained by trade restrictions. The volatility and nuances of these trade restrictions are creating a need for rework and multi-scenario planning for supply-chain managers, procurement, component engineers and design engineers alike. Visibility into the materials that go into your components is critical to assessing the potential impact of these trade restrictions and finding alternatives.
Rare earths, also referred to as rare earth minerals and rare earth elements (REEs), are 17 metallic elements that possess unique magnetic, catalytic, and luminescent properties that make them indispensable in high-tech applications, from smartphones and electric vehicles to wind turbines and defense systems.
| Rare Earth Elements | |
|---|---|
| Element | Found in Components |
| Scandium | Lamps, capacitors, transistors, superconductors, batteries, thin film deposition, doping in semiconductors, high-performance alloys |
| Yttrium | Phosphors, LEDs, electrodes, electrolytes, electronic filters, lasers, superconductors, zirconia ceramics, film capacitors, microwave radar, spark plugs |
| Lanthanum | Optical glasses, battery electrodes, phosphors, magnetic materials, nickel-metal hydride batteries, hot cathode materials, fiber optics, camera lenses |
| Cerium | Polishing compounds, thin-film coatings, catalytic converters, alloys, doping in organic semiconductors, flat-screen TVs |
| Praseodymium | Alloys for aerospace, precision optical glass, permanent magnets, lasers |
| Neodymium | Permanent magnets, lasers, ceramic capacitors, hard disk drives, speakers, headphones, electric motors |
| Promethium | Nuclear batteries, luminous paint |
| Samarium | Samarium-cobalt magnets, lasers, infrared absorbing glass, neutron absorber, dielectric materials for capacitors |
| Europium | Red and blue phosphors, LEDs, fluorescent lamps, lasers, display screens, X-ray intensifying screens |
| Gadolinium | MRI contrast agents, neutron absorber, high-performance magnets, magneto-optical recording, phosphors in displays, thin film capacitors, X-ray and scintillation detectors |
| Terbium | Green phosphors, LED lights, display screens, dopant in solid-state devices, fuel cells, alloys for magnetostrictive applications, anti-counterfeiting |
| Dysprosium | Neodymium-iron-boron magnets, electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones, hard disk drives, speakers, microphones, tablet stylus pens, laptop cooling fans, optical drives, smartwatches, headphones, earbuds, sonar systems |
| Holmium | Medical lasers, high-performance magnets, nuclear reactor control rods, optical filters, imaging systems, quantum computing, coloring in glass and ceramics |
| Erbium | Fiber-optic amplifiers, lasers, coloring agent for glasses, erbium-stabilized zirconia |
| Thulium | Surgical lasers, portable X-ray devices, industrial lasers, military communication, meteorological monitoring, doping in solid-state devices, semiconductors, thermoelectric materials |
| Ytterbium | Lasers, doping agent in ceramic capacitors, radiation source for portable X-ray machines, sputtering targets, optical coatings, solar cells, data storage, fiber amplifiers, remote sensing, lidar |
| Lutetium | PET scan detectors, high-refractive-index glass, LED light bulbs, electronic components for current control, catalyst |
These elements are often found in low concentrations in their raw form, increasing the difficulty, cost and environmental impact of extraction and processing. Further, as these critical minerals are primarily sourced from a small number of regions globally, any disruption in the supply chain can ripple across the entire electronics industry.
Impact of Trade Restrictions on Rare Earths
Trade restrictions on rare earths have been known to increase pricing volatility for components containing these minerals, due to higher raw material costs, as shared in EE Times. This directly translates to higher manufacturing costs for electronic components that rely on these minerals. A few examples include permanent magnets used in motors and speakers, phosphors in displays, and specialized alloys in semiconductors.
Rare earth element trade restrictions can also lead to supply shortages. If a key producing region limits or halts exports, manufacturers downstream may struggle to secure the necessary materials to maintain production. This can result in production delays, longer lead times for components, and ultimately, difficulties in meeting demand for electronic devices.
Managing the Impact of Rare Earth Element Trade Restrictions with SiliconExpert
In the current trade environment, seamlessly accessing comprehensive and up-to-date component data with advanced software tools and expert analysis is critical for anticipating and avoiding supply chain disruptions. SiliconExpert is helping technology manufacturers mitigate risk and build supply chain resilience by offering more than 300 attributes across more than 1 billion electronic and electro-mechanical parts, as it’s needed, where it’s needed, and when it’s needed, including advanced alerts on critical disruption events.
Regain control over your supply chain:
- Increase Visibility: Customers use SiliconExpert to gain deep insights into bills of materials (BOMs) containing electronic components, including detailed mineral data from full material declarations. This allows companies to identify components that contain REEs and understand their potential exposure to trade restrictions.
- Assess Risks: By tracking global events, regulatory changes, and supplier information, companies can utilize SiliconExpert to assess risks associated with their rare earth-dependent components. This includes identifying parts impacted by potential disruptions, tracking component price fluctuations as well as changes in lead times.
- Alternative Sourcing: With SiliconExpert’s extensive database of electronic component data—including technical, supplier, lifecycle and supply chain insight—engineers, supply chain managers and procurement professionals alike can identify alternative sources for components containing rare earths, or even identify alternative components that utilize different materials. This allows companies to proactively diversify their supply base, reducing risks of single/sole source procurement and minimizing reliance on potentially impacted sources.
Conclusions
With solutions that meet your needs, our team can help you quickly understand the impacts of rare earth trade restrictions on your supply chain.
Request Rare Earths Impact Analysis
Our professional services team can help you assess the impact of trade restrictions through identifying parts in your supply chain containing rare earth elements. The Rare Earths Impact Analysis will break down the overall effects of mineral trade restrictions on your part list, including:
- Flagged MPNs containing restricted minerals
- Affected minerals detail and associated restriction status
- MPNs by fabrication country
- Personalized expanded data collection
- Recommended alternative parts
Download a free sample report to see what a customized Rare Earths Impact Analysis would look like.
Manage Rare Earths Exposure in Your Components with SiliconExpert
Go beyond a one-time assessment of your parts list with SiliconExpert’s suite of compliance and supply chain solutions.
- Get real-time alerts sent to your inbox notifying you of the latest updates on rare earth trade restrictions.
- Following an alert, respond quickly to identify parts at risk and find crosses.
- Proactively analyze your electronic components supply chain through identifying parts containing rare earths.
- Access detailed mineral data from full material declarations.
- Assess mineral-centric forecasted pricing.
Our solutions highlight your most critical risks and offer recommendations to build greater resilience in your supply chain.