Ukraine, Kharkov
Fine Beryllium Foils
In 2005 an initiative to establish production of beryllium foils became one of the first three KIPT projects to be endorsed by CNCP.
The material is used to make radiation transparent windows for equipment employed to detect ionizing radiation, and in X-ray
tubes. Thin foils of very pure beryllium are needed to increase the sensitivity of detectors and to lower the threshold for
registering energy to below 2 keV. KIPT possesses a special building which is equipped with all of the equipment needed for making
it possible to work with beryllium safely. This building has been accorded the status of a Ukrainian national asset.
Thanks to a grant from CNCP, market research was carried out, in the first place on the opportunities for expanding sales to
Russia, the US and Europe. The market for beryllium is near monopoly; with the American company Brush Wellman controlling
practically 90% of sales. This situation created a high barrier to market entry and demanded tight product specialization and
superior user characteristics. The KIPT manufacturing technology made it possible to achieve products with higher purity:
99.950-99.995% compared with a level of purity of 98.5-99.8 achieved by competitors. This differentiated the product from that of
the monopoly supplier and provided a competitive edge in the market for fine beryllium foils.
At the start of the project, Brush Wellman expressed interest in the KIPT product. With support from CNCP specialists, a number
of meetings were held with Brush Wellman managers, which led to a decision that we would manufacture the product in our Institute,
independent from Brush Wellman.
The project entailed proving the technology for producing fine vacuum-tight beryllium foils and perfecting the method for
manufacturing windows incorporating the foils. It also involved purchasing the equipment which was needed and developing a quality
control system covering both the component parts and the complete assemblies. In addition, ISO 9001 certification was obtained for
the manufacturing system.
In June 2007 a state owned company: “The Scientific and Technical Centre, Beryllium”, was established within KIPT. The main aim
of the new company is the production of thin vacuum-tight beryllium foils and high purity beryllium. Fifteen KIPT staff were taken
on to meet commercial orders. The Beryllium enterprise is currently producing foils of 99.95% purity (by volume), of a thickness of
down to 10 micrometres, and in various shapes and dimensions. Products are being sold to customers in Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and
the USA. Discusssions are currently underway about possible sales of berillium to the United Kingdom.
Konstantin Kovtun, Director, Scientific and Technical Centre, Beryllium
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