Why it matters to materials
The material story of a data centre is not the chips — those weigh grams. It is the copper busbars, the transformers, the backup generators, the chillers and the transmission line built to reach it.
What it is made of
All materials →| Material | What it does here | Importance |
|---|---|---|
| Copper critical | Power distribution, busbars and network cable | Defining |
| Silicon critical | Processors, memory and power conversion | Defining |
| Aluminium critical | Racks, heat sinks and structure | Important |
| Gallium critical | High-efficiency power conversion | Important |
| Iron & Steel | Structure and enclosures | Important |
| Tantalum critical | Capacitors on power delivery | Important |
| Tin critical | Solder on every board | Important |
| Gold | Bonding wires and connector plating | Present |
| Helium | Used in some drive designs and in chip manufacturing | Present |
| Neodymium critical | Drive and fan motors | Present |
Copper
The reddish metal that carries electricity better than anything except silver, and which humans have been smelting…
Silicon
The second-most-common element in the Earth's crust — ordinary sand — purified until only one atom in a billion is…
Aluminium
A light silvery metal made by passing an enormous electric current through dissolved bauxite — which is why people…
Gallium
A silvery metal that melts in your hand, and the basis of the compound semiconductors in fast chargers, radar and…
Iron & Steel
Iron with a little carbon in it, and the most-produced manufactured material on the planet.
Tantalum
A dense metal whose oxide layer stores charge extremely reliably, which is why it is in the capacitors of anything…
