The indium compound that is widely recognized today is indium tin oxide (ITO), a transparent conductor that is essential for building flat panel displays and touch sensors.
TVs, computer monitors, tablets and smart phones all use ITO to enable the switching of pixels and to register touch events. In fact, ITO applications dominate the use of all indium across the world today.
However, other indium compounds also play important roles across various high tech industries. These materials include indium trichloride, indium oxide, indium hydroxide and yet other compounds. Details can be found on the product pages linked below.
Indium acetate (In(CH3COO)3) is a white powder that is freely soluble in mineral acid and acetic acid; it exhibits an acetic smell. Its particles are needle shaped, and it decomposes to indium oxide when heated.
IndiTri™ (InCl3) is a white, odorless, and highly deliquescent powder. Its particles are flake or plate-shaped and highly soluble in water and mineral acids.
IndiTri™ is used as a starting compound for the synthesis of other inorganic and organic indium compounds, for example TMI (tri-methyl indium), which is the most widely used metal-organic precursor for indium.
IndiTri™ is also used as an additive to alkaline batteries to reduce outgassing and improve operational efficiency of the battery when under electrical load. IndiTri™ is available as an anhydrous powder and as a solution up to its solubility limit.
Used in a wide range of applications, including LEDs and lighting and the semiconductor component manufacturing, IndiTri™ is a versatile compound needed at a myriad of industries. To learn more about InCl3 and how it can help in your company’s specific process, contact us today. Our team of engineers is waiting to hear from you.
IndiOx™ (also known as indium sesquioxide, or In2O3) is a yellow colored powder. It is a stable ceramic-like material that is insoluble in water. IndiOx™ is an n-type semiconductor and thus can be used as a resistive element in integrated circuits. It also is used to form heterojunctions with materials like p-InP, n-GaAs, n-Si, and other semiconductors.
Other applications include glass (as a color additive), alkaline batteries (to suppress gas formation), and high current electrical switches and contacts (as an anti-arcing additive).
IndiOx™ can be doped with tin dioxide to form indium tin oxide (ITO). Please see here for more information on this important transparent conductive oxide (TCO) material.
IndiOx™ is available in four forms:
Type A (crystalline)
Type B (fine, amorphous)
Type T (recommended for sintered sputter target applications)
High BET oxide (similar to Type T, but with a higher BET value)
Please refer to the product data sheet for more information on particle size specifications.
Indium Corporation has developed a new form of indium oxide powder with a high specific surface area.
This high BET Indium Oxide offers:
A BET value range at 13 -17m2/g
Better than 4N5 purity
A primary particle size between 50 and 100nm
Indium Corporation is manufacturing this material to support the evolving needs of sputter target production lines that need flexibility and the ability to scale in today’s fast changing environment.
This product was designed for the latest exacting applications in the display industry for use in both display electrodes and thin-film oxide transistors as part of the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) film stack.
The higher specific surface area, coupled with a smaller primary particle size, provides sputter target manufacturers with a valuable variation when optimizing the ideal composition of the sputter target, and ultimately the device performance in the display electrodes or TFT transistors. This material is suitable for use in both ITO and IGZO sputter targets.
Indium tin oxide (ITO, or tin-doped indium oxide) is a mixture of indium(III) oxide (In2O3) and tin(IV) oxide (SnO2), typically 90% In2O3, 10% SnO2 by weight.
In powder form, indium tin oxide (ITO) is yellow-green in color, but it is transparent and colorless when deposited as a thin film at thicknesses of 1000-3000 angstroms. When deposited as a thin film on glass or clear plastic it functions as a transparent electrical conductor.
ITO is normally deposited by a physical vapor deposition process such as D.C. magnetron sputtering or electron beam deposition. Less frequently, ITO can be incorporated in inks using an appropriate film-forming polymer resin and solvent system, and deposited by screen printing - albeit with lower transparency and conductivity compared to a physical deposition process.
Of the various transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), ITO is considered the premium TCO, having superior conductivity and transparency, stability and ease of patterning to form transparent circuitry. ITO is used in a number of display technologies, such as LCD, OLED, plasma, electroluminescent, and electrochromatic displays, as well as in a number of touch screen technologies.
Further uses of this versatile material include antistatic indium tin oxide coatings, EMI shielding, photovoltaic solar cells, aircraft windshields, and freezer case glass for demisting. Yet further applications for ITO are as an infrared reflecting coating to reflect heat energy such as in low-E glass and in low-pressure sodium lamps.
To learn more about our ITO indium tin oxide offerings or about the process of creating indium tin oxide coating, contact us today. Our staff is ready to answer any questions you may have.
IndiSul™ (In2(SO4)3) is a grayish-white powder. It is hydroscopic and has a monoclinic crystal structure. It is available in several forms, i.e. as an anhydrous powder, as a hydrated salt with 9 moles of associated water, and as a solution in varying concentrations in water, up to its solubility limit. Please see the product data sheet for more information.
Indium sulfide (In2S3) is an orange-red to red colored powder with the sulfuric odor that is characteristic to all sulfides. It is insoluble in water and most organic solvents but decomposes in common mineral acids, releasing hydrogen sulfide gas.
Indium sulfide is available in 4N and 5N degrees of purity, and as a powder or compressed pellets.
Indium hydroxide (In(OH)3) is a white powder that is available in two morphologies: crystalline and fine powder. It is soluble in mineral acids but insoluble in water.
The crystalline powder has cubic shaped crystals with a size range of 1 to 5 μm.
The fine powder has smaller primary particles (0.1 to 1.0 μm) with a range of shapes (spherical to elliptical).
Indium hydroxide is used in a variety of industries, including the manufacturing of alkaline batteries and flat panel components. To learn more about our In(OH)3 offerings, contact us today. One of our dedicated engineers is available to answer any questions that you may have!
