Erbium (Er) is a chemical element, a rare-earth metal in the lanthanide series of the periodic table. Carl Gustaf Mosander discovered it in 1842 as an oxide. Key properties of erbium: * Silvery-white metal, relatively stable in air * Atomic number 68 * Reacts slowly with water and dissolves quickly in diluted acids * Used in lasers, infrared light filters, and optical fibers * A pink coloring agent for glasses and gems * Component of signal amplifiers in fiber-optic telecommunications

Where is erbium found in nature?

Erbium (Er) is a chemical element and a rare-earth metal of the lanthanide series. It is found in many rare-earth minerals, including laterite ionic clays, xenotime , and euxenite . Erbium is also present in the products of nuclear fission. The element's abundance in the Earth’s crust is comparable to that of tantalum and tungsten.

What does erbium look like?

Erbium (Er) is a rare-earth metal in the lanthanide series. Pure erbium has a silvery-white appearance and is relatively stable when exposed to air. Erbium is a strong paramagnet above approximately −188 °C. Between −188 °C and −253 °C, it becomes antiferromagnetic, and below −253 °C, it arranges into a conical ferromagnetic structure. When erbium is raised to a high-energy state and absorbs infrared light, it emits photons at wavelengths of 1.55 micrometers. Erbium's compounds are used in lasers and as a pink coloring agent for glasses. The Er^3+ ion is pink in solution.

What are some uses of erbium?

Erbium is a silvery-white metal that is relatively stable in the air. Its primary application lies in fiber-optic telecommunications , where it serves as a crucial component in signal amplifiers for long-distance data cables. Erbium compounds are also utilized in lasers and as a pink coloring agent for glasses. Erbium-stabilized zirconia is used to make pink synthetic gems. Additionally, the intermetallic compound Er3Ni is employed as a regenerator material in low-temperature cryocoolers due to its high magnetic heat capacity at low temperatures.

How is erbium extracted and processed?

Erbium (Er) is extracted from rare-earth minerals like laterite ionic clays , xenotime , and euxenite . These ores typically contain less than 10% rare-earth oxides (REO) and must be upgraded to about 60% REO for further processing. Commercial purification involves liquid-liquid solvent extraction and ion-exchange methods . The metal itself is prepared through metallothermic reduction of anhydrous fluoride with calcium.

Why is erbium important in modern technology, like fiber optics?

Erbium is a rare-earth metal with the atomic number 68. When the Er3+ ion is raised to a high-energy state, it emits photons at 1.55 micrometers, a common wavelength in fiber-optic signal transmission. Thus, the primary use of erbium is in fiber-optic telecommunications as a component of signal amplifiers in long-distance telephone and data cables. Erbium-doped optical amplifiers are employed as efficient all-optical repeaters. Its compounds are also used in lasers and as a pink coloring agent for glasses.

erbium

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erbium

chemical element

Also known as: Er

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What is erbium?
Erbium (Er) is a chemical element, a rare-earth metal in the lanthanide series of the periodic table. Carl Gustaf Mosander discovered it in 1842 as an oxide.

Key properties of erbium:
* Silvery-white metal, relatively stable in air
* Atomic number 68
* Reacts slowly with water and dissolves quickly in diluted acids
* Used in lasers, infrared light filters, and optical fibers
* A pink coloring agent for glasses and gems
* Component of signal amplifiers in fiber-optic telecommunications
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2. Definition of erbium
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Where is erbium found in nature?
Erbium (Er) is a chemical element and a rare-earth metal of the lanthanide series. It is found in many rare-earth minerals, including laterite ionic clays, xenotime, and euxenite. Erbium is also present in the products of nuclear fission. The element's abundance in the Earth’s crust is comparable to that of tantalum and tungsten.
2 Britannica Sources
1. erbium
2. Definition of erbium
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What does erbium look like?
Erbium (Er) is a rare-earth metal in the lanthanide series. Pure erbium has a silvery-white appearance and is relatively stable when exposed to air.

Erbium is a strong paramagnet above approximately −188 °C. Between −188 °C and −253 °C, it becomes antiferromagnetic, and below −253 °C, it arranges into a conical ferromagnetic structure.

When erbium is raised to a high-energy state and absorbs infrared light, it emits photons at wavelengths of 1.55 micrometers. Erbium's compounds are used in lasers and as a pink coloring agent for glasses. The Er^3+ ion is pink in solution.
1 Britannica Source
1. erbium
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What are some uses of erbium?
Erbium is a silvery-white metal that is relatively stable in the air. Its primary application lies in fiber-optic telecommunications, where it serves as a crucial component in signal amplifiers for long-distance data cables. Erbium compounds are also utilized in lasers and as a pink coloring agent for glasses. Erbium-stabilized zirconia is used to make pink synthetic gems. Additionally, the intermetallic compound Er3Ni is employed as a regenerator material in low-temperature cryocoolers due to its high magnetic heat capacity at low temperatures.
2 Britannica Sources
1. erbium
2. Definition of erbium
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How is erbium extracted and processed?
Erbium (Er) is extracted from rare-earth minerals like laterite ionic clays, xenotime, and euxenite. These ores typically contain less than 10% rare-earth oxides (REO) and must be upgraded to about 60% REO for further processing.

Commercial purification involves liquid-liquid solvent extraction and ion-exchange methods. The metal itself is prepared through metallothermic reduction of anhydrous fluoride with calcium.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why is erbium important in modern technology, like fiber optics?
Erbium is a rare-earth metal with the atomic number 68. When the Er3+ ion is raised to a high-energy state, it emits photons at 1.55 micrometers, a common wavelength in fiber-optic signal transmission. Thus, the primary use of erbium is in fiber-optic telecommunications as a component of signal amplifiers in long-distance telephone and data cables. Erbium-doped optical amplifiers are employed as efficient all-optical repeaters. Its compounds are also used in lasers and as a pink coloring agent for glasses.
2 Britannica Sources
1. erbium
2. telecommunications media: Electro-optical transmitters
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erbium (Er), chemical element, a rare-earth metal of the lanthanide series of the periodic table.

Pure erbium is a silvery white metal that is relatively stable in air. It slowly reacts with water and quickly dissolves in diluted acids, except hydrofluoric acid (HF) because of formation of the protective fluoride (ErF₃) layer on the surface of the metal. Erbium is a very strong paramagnet above approximately 85 K (−188 °C, or −307 °F). Between 85 K and 20 K (−253 °C, or −424 °F) the metal is antiferromagnetic, and below about 20 K it is arranged in a conical ferromagnetic structure.

The element was discovered in 1842 as an oxide by Carl Gustaf Mosander, who originally called it terbia; in the confusion arising from the similarity in the properties of the rare-earth elements, the names of two, terbium and erbium, became interchanged (c. 1860). The element occurs in many rare-earth minerals; among the more important are the laterite ionic clays, xenotime, and euxenite. Erbium also occurs in the products of nuclear fission. In Earth’s crust, erbium is as abundant as tantalum and tungsten.

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Natural erbium is a mixture of six stable isotopes: erbium-166 (33.5 percent), erbium-168 (26.98 percent), erbium-167 (22.87 percent), erbium-170 (14.91 percent), erbium-164 (1.6 percent), and erbium-162 (0.14 percent). Not counting nuclear isomers, a total of 30 radioactive isotopes of erbium are known. Their mass varies from 142 to 177. All the radioactive isotopes of erbium are relatively unstable: their half-lives range from 1 second (erbium-145) to 9.4 days (erbium-169).

Commercial purification is accomplished by liquid-liquid solvent extraction and ion-exchange methods. The metal itself is prepared by metallothermic reduction of the anhydrous fluoride with calcium. Only one allotropic (structural) form is known for erbium. The element adopts a close-packed hexagonal structure with a = 3.5592 Å and c = 5.5850 Å at room temperature.

When raised to a high-energy state by absorption of infrared light, the Er³⁺ ion emits photons at wavelengths of 1.55 micrometres—one of the wavelengths commonly employed in fibre-optic signal transmission. Hence, the major use of erbium is in fibre-optic telecommunications as a component of the signal amplifiers in long-distance telephone and data cables. Its compounds are used in lasers and as a pink colouring agent for glasses. Erbium-stabilized zirconia (ZrO²) makes pink synthetic gems. Another small-scale use of erbium is in the intermetallic compound Er³Ni, which has a high magnetic heat capacity around 4 K (−269 °C, or −452 °F), which is needed for effective regenerative heat exchange at low temperatures, and, therefore, the compound is employed as a regenerator material in low-temperature cryocoolers.

Erbium behaves as a typical rare-earth element, forming compounds in which its oxidation state is +3, such as the pink oxide Er₂O₃. The Er³⁺ ion is pink in solution.

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Element Properties
atomic number	68
atomic weight	167.259
melting point	1,529 °C (2,784 °F)
boiling point	2,868 °C (5,194 °F)
specific gravity	9.066 (24 °C, or 75 °F)
oxidation state	+3
electron configuration	[Xe]4f ¹²6s²

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Rick Livingston.

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