American Elements: Electro-optic Crystal Supplier & Tech Info

Electro-optic is a line solid used in photo optic applications. Additional technical, research and safety (MSDS) information is available as is a Reference Calculator for converting relevant units of measurement.

Lanthanum is a Block F, Group 3, Period 6 element. The electronic configuration is [Xe] 5d¹ 6s². In its elemental form lanthanum 's CAS number is 7439-91-0. The lanthanum atom has a radius of 187.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 200.pm. Lanthanum is one of the products manufactured and distributed under the tradename AE Rare Earths. Lanthanum is the first element in the rare earth or lanthanide series. It is the model for all the other trivalent rare earths. After cerium, it is the second most abundant of the rare earths. Lanthanum is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.999% (ACS grade to ultra high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder. Lanthanum-rich lanthanide compositions have been used extensively for cracking reactions in FCC catalysts, especially to manufacture low-octane fuel for heavy crude oil.

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. Nowadays gallium arsenide (Ga-As) is undoubtedly the most used. This compound is used in the production of several electronic parts such as diodes and transistors, made for voltage rectification, signal amplification, etc. Other gallium arsenide applications are the semiconductor "lasing" and microwave generation and also in sensors to measure temperature, light or magnetic field.

Silicon is a Block P, Group 14, Period 3 element. The electronic configuration is [Ne] 3s² 3p². In its elemental form silicon's CAS number is 7440-21-3. The silicon atom has a radius of 117.6.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 210.pm. Silicon is one of man's most useful elements. It makes up 25.7% of the earth's crust, by weight, and is the second most abundant element, being exceeded only by oxygen. The Czochralski process is commonly used to produce single crystals of silicon used for solid-state or semiconductor devices. Silica, as sand, is a principal ingredient of glass, one of the most inexpensive of materials with excellent mechanical, optical, thermal, and electrical properties. Silicon 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. Ultra high purity silicon can be doped with boron, gallium, phosphorus , or arsenic to produce silicon for use in transistors, solar cells, rectifiers, and other solid-state devices which are used extensively in the electronics and space-age industries. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon has shown promise in producing economical cells for converting solar energy into electricity. Silcones are important products of silicon. They range from liquids to hard, glasslike solids with many useful properties.

American Elements semi conducting materials are 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 Growth for processes used to fabricate semiconductor materials, which include:

"pulling" by the Czochaiski method for production of semiconductor materials
Flux growth and gradient freeze
Directional solidification of fluorites using both the Bridgman-Stockbarger and float zoning techniques