- Materials
- Forms
- Reference Materials
-
Services
-
Services
-
-
Sectors
-
Supporting cutting edge research and development with advanced materials to your needs.
High performance materials for extreme conditions.
Innovative and lightweight materials with high mechanical properties and durability.
Materials used in chemical engineering from consumables to innovative solutions.
Advanced materials characterized by high electrical or insulation performance.
High quality materials for renewable energy.
Biocompatible and biodegradable materials to the highest standards.
High purity, biocompatible materials for high performance devices and applications.
High purity metals and alloys in various forms and crucibles suitable to your needs.
State of the art materials for the next generation of technologies.
High performance materials for extreme conditions.
Durable materials for corrosive environments.
Foils, disks or windows across a range of materials to facilitate your innovation.
Polymers, metal foils, and sustainable materials for your packaging needs.
Your requirements for unique products and attributes will be met across our 170,000+ product range and customization capabilities.
High-quality materials across branded products in various forms including rods, wires, and foils support space technology needs.
Highest quality materials to support your need for small-quantity specialist materials such as graphite and lithium compounds.
High purity materials to improve the reproducibility and reliability of your evaporation processes.
-
- Product Ranges
-
Resources
-
Find out our latest news.
Read our latest insights, and opinions.
Discover our Innovation Discovered podcasts on innovation, products, interesting topics, and more.
Find out how we've worked with our partners
Our latest updates on what we are doing, find out more.
Find out more about us and the great roles we have available for talented individuals. Find out more.
Take a look at our global distributors.
Explore our FAQ resource to help answer your key questions.
Gain a clearer picture of the language used in scientific study
-
- About Us
Tungsten Foil (Light Tight)
Available Configurations
Properties common to all products in this list
| Purity | Thickness | Width | Length | Temper ⓘ | Surface Finish | Other Variant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99.9% (3N) 99.96% (3N6) | 0.006 mm to 101.6 mm (plate) | 7 mm to 500 mm | 7 mm to 1000 mm | As Rolled | Polished on one side | Non Light Tested (99.95% W) |
Need custom configurations? Please contact us.
Key Features
Tungsten Foil (Light Tight) is a pinhole-free optical barrier available in purities from 99.9% to 99.96% — combining complete opacity to visible and near-visible radiation with properties no other light-tight foil can replicate: the greatest radiation attenuation, the highest thermal stability, and the most rigid dimensional behavior of any foil in this product family:
Pinhole-Free Optical Barrier with the Highest Radiation Attenuation of Any Light-Tight Foil
With a density of 19.3 g/cm³ and atomic number 74, Tungsten Foil (Light Tight) provides significantly greater X-ray and gamma-ray stopping power per unit thickness than copper, molybdenum, or lead-free alternatives — making it the material of choice wherever a light-tight optical barrier must simultaneously function as a radiation shield in synchrotron beamlines, X-ray instrumentation, and high-energy physics detectors.
Highest Thermal Stability of Any Light-Tight Foil (Melting Point 3,410 °C)
A melting point of 3,410 °C and extremely low vapor pressure at elevated temperatures ensure that Tungsten Foil (Light Tight) maintains both its optical barrier function and structural integrity in UHV systems, beamline environments, and high-temperature vacuum chambers where softer foils would oxidize, distort, or contaminate sensitive systems.
Exceptional Dimensional Rigidity (411 GPa Tensile Modulus, CTE 4.5 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹)
A tensile modulus of 411 GPa, Vickers hardness of 500 kgf/mm², and a coefficient of thermal expansion of just 4.5 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ give Tungsten Foil (Light Tight) a resistance to mechanical deformation and thermal distortion that thinner, softer light-tight foils cannot match — critical in precision aperture masks and beam stops where dimensional stability of the optical barrier geometry is as important as its opacity.
Purity Range 99.9% to 99.96% for Application-Specific Selection
The 99.9% grade suits demanding industrial shielding, furnace baffling, and beamline applications where refractory performance and pinhole-free construction are the primary requirements; the 99.95% grade reduces trace impurity levels for surface-sensitive and vacuum processing applications; and the 99.96% grade provides the lowest available impurity content for UHV photoemission, synchrotron beamline, and high-specification research environments where material purity is an experimental variable.
Ultra-High Vacuum Compatibility & Low Outgassing
Extremely low outgassing behavior under vacuum ensures Tungsten Foil (Light Tight) maintains both optical and physical integrity in UHV cryostats, beamline baffles, and high-temperature vacuum chambers — combining the light-tight barrier function with the vacuum cleanliness required in photoemission, synchrotron, and particle physics environments where standard foil alternatives would introduce contamination.
Thermal Conductivity of 173 W/m·K for Assemblies Requiring Simultaneous Optical & Thermal Management
Thermal conductivity of 173 W/m·K supports use in assemblies where the shielding foil must also manage localized heat flux — providing an optical barrier and radiation shield that simultaneously conducts heat away from the shielded region in high-power beamline and detector assembly environments.
Industrial Applications
Tungsten Foil (Light Tight) is used across synchrotron science, particle physics, X-ray and gamma-ray instrumentation, UHV cryogenics, and aerospace wherever a light-tight optical barrier must simultaneously function as a radiation shield, a dimensionally stable structural element, and a vacuum-compatible component:
- ✦ Aperture Masks & Beam Stops in Synchrotron & Particle Physics Beamlines
- Used as aperture masks and beam stops in synchrotron and particle physics beamlines, where the combination of complete optical opacity, maximum radiation attenuation from Z = 74 density, and dimensional stability at 411 GPa tensile modulus ensures that the foil defines beam geometry precisely while simultaneously attenuating scattered and secondary radiation that softer light-tight foils cannot absorb. The 99.95% and 99.96% grades are selected where material purity is an experimental constraint.
- ✦ Detector Shielding in X-Ray & Gamma-Ray Instrumentation
- Applied as detector shielding in X-ray and gamma-ray instrumentation, where Tungsten Foil (Light Tight) provides a single component that excludes ambient light and attenuates background radiation simultaneously — replacing multi-layer configurations that would otherwise combine a light-tight foil with a separate radiation shield.
- ✦ Cryogenic Radiation Baffles in UHV Cryostats
- Employed as cryogenic radiation baffles in UHV cryostats, where ultra-low outgassing behavior, compatibility with vacuum bake-out, and light-tight construction ensure clean vacuum and complete optical isolation in photoemission spectroscopy and surface physics instruments. The 99.95% and 99.96% grades are specified where trace impurity levels at the foil surface are experimental variables.
- ✦ EDM Electrode Blanks & High-Precision Machined Components
- Used as EDM electrode blanks and precision machined components where hardness of 500 kgf/mm², tensile modulus of 411 GPa, and high-temperature stability are required in tight-tolerance components that must also provide radiation attenuation or light exclusion — with the 99.9% grade suited to industrial machining applications and higher purity grades for research-grade components.
- ✦ Re-Entry Vehicle & Aerospace Thermal & Radiation Shielding
- Applied in re-entry vehicle and aerospace thermal and radiation shielding components where a melting point of 3,410 °C, high density, and dimensional stability under extreme thermal cycling are required — and where the pinhole-free construction ensures that shielding integrity is maintained without optical leakage through foil defects in assembled shield structures.
Material Properties
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Atomic number | 74 |
| Crystal structure | Body centred cubic |
| Electronic structure | Xe 4f¹⁴ 5d⁴ 6s² |
| Valences shown | 2,3,4,5,6 |
| Atomic weight( amu ) | 183.85 |
| Thermal neutron absorption cross-section( Barns ) | 18.5 |
| Photo-electric work function( eV ) | 4.55 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 183/ 14.3 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 182/ 26.3 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 186/ 28.6 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 180/ 0.1 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 184/ 30.7 |
| Atomic radius - Goldschmidt( nm ) | 0.141 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 1/ 7.98 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 2/ 17.7 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Material condition | Soft |
| Material condition | Hard |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.28 |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.28 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 311 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 311 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 411 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 411 |
| Hardness - Vickers( kgf mm⁻² ) | 360 |
| Hardness - Vickers( kgf mm⁻² ) | 500 |
| Tensile strength( MPa ) | 550-620 |
| Tensile strength( MPa ) | 1920 |
| Yield strength( MPa ) | 550 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Electrical resistivity( µOhmcm ) | 5.4@20°C |
| Superconductivity critical temperature( K ) | 0.0154 |
| Temperature coefficient( K⁻¹ ) | 0.0048@0-100°C |
| Thermal emf against Pt (cold 0C - hot 100C)( mV ) | 1.12 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Boiling point( C ) | 5660 |
| Density( gcm⁻³ ) | 19.3@20°C |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Melting point( C ) | 3410 |
| Latent heat of evaporation( J g⁻¹ ) | 4009 |
| Latent heat of fusion( J g⁻¹ ) | 192 |
| Specific heat( J K⁻¹ kg⁻¹ ) | 133@25°C |
| Thermal conductivity( W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ ) | 173@0-100°C |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion( x10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ ) | 4.5@0-100°C |
Tolerances
| Thickness | <0.01mm | ±25% |
|---|---|---|
| Thickness | 0.01mm - 0.05mm | ±15% |
| Thickness | >0.05mm | ±10% |
| Linear dimension | <100mm | ±1mm |
| Linear dimension | >=100mm | +2 / -1% |