Silicon Sphere - Material Information

Silicon (Si) is one of the most technologically important elements in modern science and engineering. Its crystalline form combines excellent mechanical stability, optical transparency in the infrared, and semiconducting properties that have revolutionized electronics and photonics. As a spherical form, high-purity crystalline silicon exhibits remarkable dimensional precision, making it suitable for optical calibration, metrology, and semiconductor processing applications.

Material Overview

Crystalline silicon adopts the diamond cubic crystal structure with a density of 2.33 g/cm³ and a melting point of 1414 °C. It displays a refractive index of approximately 3.48 at 1.55 µm and a wide optical transmission window ranging from 1.2 to 8 µm in the infrared region. Its thermal conductivity is around 148 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹, and it exhibits a high elastic modulus (~130 GPa), making it both thermally and mechanically robust. Zhang et al. (2025) reported that metastable silicon polymorphs such as oP16-Si exhibit enhanced hardness (24.9 GPa) and thermoelectric performance (ZT ? 1.42 at 300 K), highlighting silicon’s potential beyond its conventional cubic form. Doping and thermal treatment can tune the bandgap (1.12 eV for intrinsic Si) and electrical properties, allowing control over carrier density and infrared absorption (Mao et al., 2012).

Applications and Advantages

Silicon spheres are widely used in optical and metrological systems, particularly in redefining the kilogram through Avogadro constant measurements, where uniform isotopic and crystalline composition ensures precision. In photonics, silicon microspheres exhibit high-Q optical resonances (Q ? 10?) and morphology-dependent scattering modes, making them ideal for integrated optoelectronic devices (Yilmaz et al., 2011). The combination of thermal conductivity, dimensional stability, and oxidation resistance enables their use in semiconductor crystal growth, infrared optics, and precision bearings. Furthermore, p-type silicon modified under magnetic and thermal treatment demonstrates enhanced photoluminescence and carrier transport behavior (Saleh, 2013), reinforcing its role as a versatile material platform across multiple technologies.

Goodfellow Availability

Goodfellow supplies high-purity silicon spheres suitable for research and metrological applications. Available in monocrystalline and polycrystalline forms, these materials offer outstanding optical, thermal, and mechanical consistency. Explore silicon and related semiconductor materials through the Goodfellow product finder.

References

• Zhang, P., Tang, Z., Liu, W., Tang, C., He, C., Li, J., & Ouyang, T. (2025). Mechanical, optical, and thermoelectric properties of metastable silicon oP16-Si: A first-principles study. Physica Status Solidi (RRL). https://doi.org/10.1002/pssr.202400374
• Mao, X., Han, P., Hu, S., Gao, L., Li, X., Mi, Y., & Liang, P. (2012). Optical and electrical properties of single-crystal Si supersaturated with Se by ion implantation. Chinese Physics Letters, 29(9), 097101. https://doi.org/10.1088/0256-307X/29/9/097101
• Yilmaz, H., Murib, M. S., Serpengüzel, A., Taira, K., & Nakata, J. (2011). Silicon microspheres for optoelectronics. URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium. https://doi.org/10.1109/URSIGASS.2011.6050598
• Saleh, K. Q. (2013). Optical and electrical properties of p-type Si modification in visible region for silicon-based microphotonics. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 2(11), 1–6.