American Elements: Germanium Foil Supplier & Tech Info

American Elements’ Nanometal™, nanofoil manufacturing unit produces ultra thin foil as thin as only 50 nm thick in diameters up to 910 mm. Typically, foils are in thicknesses from 20 nm to 1000 nm, 1 micron, 2 micron, and up to a few microns thick. Nanometal™ ultra thin foil can also be produced on a substrate with a parting agent to permit removal by floating and can then be mounted on frames. Frames may be washers, rings, or more-complicated assemblies. Nanometal™ is one of the many ultra high purity metal forms available from American Elements for semiconductor and other electronic applications and for use in coating and thin film Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) processes including Thermal and Electron Beam (E-Beam) Evaporation, Low Temperature Organic Evaporation, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), Organometallic and Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) in specific applications such as fuel cells and solar energy. We also produce metallic nanopowders (see also Nanotechnology) and metals by crystallization for this purpose. For foils >1 micron thick see our Germanium Foil page. We also produce Germanium as rods, powder and plates. Other shapes are available by request.

Germanium is a Block P, Group 14, Period 4 element. The number of electrons in each of Germanium's shells is 2, 8, 18, 4 and its electronic configuration is [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p². In its elemental form germanium's CAS number is 7440-56-4. The germanium atom has a radius of 122.5.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 200.pm. Germanium is not toxic. Germanium is a very important semiconductor. Zone-refining techniques have led to production of crystalline germanium for semiconductor use with extremely high purities. When germanium is doped with arsenic, gallium, or other elements, it is used as a transistor element in thousands of electronic applications. The most common use of germanium is as a semiconductor. Germanium is also finding many other applications including use as an alloying agent, as a phosphor in fluorescent lamps, and as a catalyst. Germanium and germanium oxide are transparent to the infrared and are used in infrared spectroscopes and other optical equipment, including extremely sensitive infrared detectors. The high refractive index and dispersion properties of its oxide's have made germanium useful as a component of wide-angle camera lenses and microscope objectives. The field of organo-germanium chemistry is becoming increasingly important. Germanium was first discovered by Clemens Winkler in 1886. See Germanium research below.

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