earths, which has yielded much lower costs for thulium production. The principal sources today are the ion adsorption clays of southern China. In these, where about two-thirds of the total rare-earth content is yttrium, thulium is about 0.5% (or about tied with lutetium for rarity). The metal can be isolated through reduction of its oxide with lanthanum metal or by calcium reduction in a closed container. None of thulium's natural compounds are commercially important. Approximately 50 tonnes per year of thulium oxide are produced. In 1996, thulium oxide cost US$20 per gram, and in 2005, 99%-pure thulium metal powder cost US$70 per gram. Applications Lasers Holmium-chromium-thulium triple-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (, or ) is an active laser medium material with high efficiency. It lases at 2080 nm in the Infra-Red and is widely used in military applications, medicine, and meteorology. Single-element thulium-doped YAG (Tm:YAG) lasers operate at 2010 nm. The wavelength of thulium-based lasers is very efficient for superficial ablation of tissue, with minimal coagulation depth in air or in water. This makes thulium lasers attractive for laser-based surgery. X-ray source Despite its high cost, portable X-ray devices use thulium that has been bombarded with neutrons in a nuclear reactor to produce the isotope Thulium-170, having a half-life of 128.6 days and five major emission lines of comparable intensity (at 7.4, 51.354, 52.389, 59.4 and 84.253 keV). These radioactive sources have a useful life of about one year, as tools in medical and dental diagnosis, as well as to detect defects in inaccessible mechanical and electronic components. Such sources do not need extensive radiation protectiononly a small cup of lead. They are among the most popular radiation sources for use in industrial radiography. Thulium-170 is gaining popularity as an X-ray source for cancer treatment via brachytherapy (sealed source radiation therapy). Others Thulium has been used in high-temperature superconductors similarly to yttrium. Thulium potentially has use in ferrites, ceramic magnetic materials that are used in microwave equipment. Thulium is also similar to scandium in that it is used in arc lighting for its unusual spectrum, in this case, its green emission lines, which are not covered by other elements. Because thulium fluoresces with a blue color when exposed to ultraviolet light, thulium is put into euro banknotes as a measure against counterfeiting. The blue fluorescence of Tm-doped calcium sulfate has been used in personal dosimeters for visual monitoring of radiation. Tm-doped