American Elements: Copper Indium Gallium Selenide Powder Supplier & Tech Info

Copper Indium Gallium Selenide Powder (CIGS Powder) for solar energy applications is a p-type or absorber layer material. Find Safety and Research information below. CIGS-based photovoltaic cells (PV Cells) for solar energy are fabricated from a positively charged or p-type CIGS layer underneath a negatively charged or n-type layer. The p-type layer can be produced by thin film deposition of a Gallium doped Copper Indium Selenide (CIGS) Powder sold under the AE Solar Energy group. Most CIGS-based PV solar cells are produced from thin film deposition of CIGS using sputtering techniques.

Copper is a Block D, Group 11, Period 4 element. The electronic configuration is [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s¹. In its elemental form copper's CAS number is 7440-50-8. The copper atom has a radius of 127.8 .pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 140.pm. Due to its high electrical conductivity, large amounts of copper are used by the electrical industry for wire. Of all pure metals, only silver has a higher electrical conductivity. Copper is also resistant to corrosion caused by moisture, making it a widely used material in pipes, coins, and jewelry. Copper is often too soft for its applications, so it is incorporated in numerous alloys. For example, brass is a copper-zinc alloy, and bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Copper sulfate (CuSO 4·H2O), also known as blue vitrol, is the most well-known copper compound. It is used as an agricultural poison, an algicide, and as a pigment for inks.

Indium is a Block P, Group 13, Period 5 element. The electronic configuration is [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s² 5p¹. In its elemental form indium's CAS number is 7440-74-6. The indium atom has a radius of 162.6.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 193.pm. Indium has found application in semi-conductor materials and other electronic applications. It is used to make low-melting alloys, such as an alloy of 24% indium - 76% Indium is liquid at room temperature. It is used in making bearing alloys, germanium transistors, rectifiers, and photoconductors. It can be plated onto metal and evaporated onto glass, forming a mirror as good as that made with silver but with more resistance to atmospheric corrosion.

Gallium is a Block P, Group 13, Period 4 element. The electronic configuration is [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p¹. In its elemental form gallium's CAS number is 7440-55-3. The gallium atom has a radius of 122.1.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 187.pm. Gallium is one of three elements that naturally occur as a liquid at room temperature. The other two are mercury and cesium. The application of gallium that has received the most attention is the production of semiconducting compounds. Of these, the most important are the compounds of gallium with antimony, arsenic or phosphor.