American Elements: Yttrium Selenide Supplier & Tech Info

Yttrium Selenide is a crystal grown product generally immediately available in most volumes. technical, research and safety (MSDS) information is available as is a Reference Calculator for converting relevant units of measurement.

Yttrium is a Block D, Group 3, Period 5 element. The electronic configuration is [Kr] 4d¹ 5s². In its elemental form yttrium's CAS number is 7440-65-5. The yttrium atom has a radius of 177.6.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 200.pm. Yttrium has the highest thermo-dynamic affinity for oxygen of any element. This characteristic is the basis for many of its applications. While not part of the rare earth series, it resembles the heavy rare earths which are sometimes referred to as the “yttrics” for this reason. Another unique characteristic derives from its ability to form crystals with useful properties. Yttrium 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.

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.

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:

Crystal "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