Indium (In) - Sputtering Target & Wire - Material Information

Indium is a post-transition metal prized for its softness, malleability, and ability to form highly conductive, transparent films in combination with oxides. In modern materials science, indium serves a vital role in thin film technologies, particularly in the creation of transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) such as indium tin oxide (ITO), essential for photovoltaic cells, sensors, and display technologies.

Material Overview

With an atomic number of 49 and a melting point of 156.6 °C, indium combines metallic conductivity with low vapor pressure, making it ideal for vacuum deposition and sputtering applications. Pure indium films exhibit high ductility and excellent wetting behavior on glass and metal substrates. When alloyed with tin oxide or gallium oxide, indium enhances charge carrier mobility and optical transmittance. Studies by Tchenka et al. (2021) and Zhu et al. (2012) have demonstrated that sputtered ITO films—derived from indium-based targets—achieve resistivities as low as 1.7 × 10?? ?·cm while maintaining over 90% optical transparency in the visible spectrum. Crystallinity of the sputtering target strongly influences the photoelectric properties of the resulting thin films (Yang et al., 2020), underscoring the importance of target purity and microstructure. Furthermore, gallium-doped ITO compositions have been optimized to lower deposition temperatures without compromising electrical conductivity (Campa et al., 2017).

Applications and Advantages

Indium sputtering targets are widely used in the fabrication of ITO coatings for touchscreens, OLED displays, and solar cells. Due to its ability to form uniform, adherent layers, indium is also utilized in semiconductor bonding and optoelectronic interfaces. Its alloys—such as indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO)—exhibit high electron mobility and low defect densities, making them central to next-generation thin-film transistors. In pure metallic form, indium wires and foils are used as low-temperature solders, vacuum seals, and cryogenic joints, benefiting from indium’s exceptional malleability and corrosion resistance. Moreover, indium’s large neutron capture cross-section makes it valuable for radiation detection and nuclear instrumentation applications.

Goodfellow Availability

Goodfellow provides indium in high-purity sputtering targets, wires, and foils, available in research and custom-engineered formats. Each product is manufactured to meet the precision and purity demands of modern electronic and thin-film technologies. Explore indium and related deposition materials through the Goodfellow product finder.

References

• Tchenka, A., Agdad, A., Vall, M. C. S., Hnawi, S. K., Narjis, A., Nkhaili, L., Ibnouelghazi, E., & Ech-chamikh, E. (2021). Effect of RF sputtering power and deposition time on optical and electrical properties of indium tin oxide thin film. Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, 2021, 5556305. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5556305
• Zhu, G., Li, Z., Yang, H., Xu, H., & Yu, A. (2012). Effect of target density on microstructural, electrical, and optical properties of indium tin oxide thin films. Journal of Electronic Materials, 41(8), 2117–2123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-012-2155-x
• Yang, S., Sun, B., Liu, Y., Zhu, J., Song, J., Hao, Z., Zeng, X., Zhao, X., Shu, Y., Chen, J., Yi, J., & He, J. (2020). Effect of ITO target crystallinity on the properties of sputtering-deposited ITO films. Ceramics International, 46(6), 7271–7279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.11.110
• Campa, A., Berginc, M., Vojisavljevi?, K., Mali?, B., Panjan, P., & Topi?, M. (2017). Optical and electrical properties of gallium-doped indium tin oxide optimized for low deposition temperature applications. Thin Solid Films, 623, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2016.11.028