Gold is a Block D, Group 11, Period 6 element. The electronic configuration is [Xe] 4f¹⁴² 5d¹⁰ 6s¹. In its elemental form gold's CAS number is 7440-57-5. The gold atom has a radius of 144.2.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 166.pm. Gold is a soft metal and is usually alloyed to give it more strength. It is a good conductor of heat and electricity, and is unaffected by air and most reagents. It is used in coinage and is a standard for monetary systems. It is also extensively used for jewelry, dental work, and for plating. It is used for coating certain space satellites, as it is a good reflector of infrared and is inert. One area that has seen significant growth is the use of gold in electronics, particularly within telecommunications, information technology and safety critical applications. Similarly, within computers there are usually gold-plated edge connectors. Gold bonding wires are used extensively within semiconductor packages, gold thick film inks are applied in the fabrication of hybrid circuits and gold's excellent solder wetting properties are used to form a very thin protective layer on copper laminate printed circuit boards.

Selenium is a Block P, Group 16, Period 4 element. The electronic configuration is [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁴. In its elemental form selenium's CAS number is 7782-49-2. The selenium atom has a radius of 116.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 190.pm. Selenium exhibits both photovoltaic action, where light is converted directly into electricity, and photoconductive action, where the electrical resistance decreases with increased illumination. These properties make selenium useful in the production of photocells and exposure meters for photographic use, as well as solar cells. Below its melting point, selenium is a p-type semiconductor and has many uses in electronic and solid-state applications. Selenium is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.9999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder. Selenium was first discovered by Jons Berzelius in 1817.

American Elements semi conducting materials are crystal structures produced from ultra high purity starting materials synthesized by our high purity production facility which includes several large electric muffle furnaces, a tube furnace for hydrogen reduction, 50 gallon glass-lined Pfaudler reactors supported by our analytical laboratory containing X-ray diffraction, SEM, AA, BET surface area, and ICP Spectrometry for trace metals analysis. See a discussion of American Elements Ultra High Purity and Analytical capabilities. See Crystal Growth for processes used to fabricate semiconductor materials, which include: