• Silicon (Si) Metal & Powder, Amorphous, Key Words:

  Silicon powder, amorphous, silicon nanopowder, nanoparticles, amorphous, silicon powder, amorphous 99.995%, silicon powder, amorphous 99.99%, silicon powder, amorphous 99.9%, silicon lump, amorphous, silicon cubes, amorphous, silicon sputtering target, amorphous, silicon plate, amorphous, silicon rod, amorphous, Si, CAS# 7440-21-3, UN 1346, UN 3089

• Silicon (Si) Metal & Powder, Amorphous, Designations:

Chemical Name: Silicon

Chemical Formula: Si

• Silicon (Si) Metal & Powder, Amorphous, Description:

a) Amorphous silicon (a-Si or a-Si) is the non-crystalline allotropic form of silicon. It can be deposited in thin films at low temperatures onto a variety of substrates, which offers some unique capabilities in a variety of electronics.

b) Silicon is a four-fold coordinated atom that is normally tetrahedrally bonded to four neighboring silicon atoms. In crystalline silicon this tetrahedral structure is continued over a large range, forming a well-ordered lattice (crystal).

c) In amorphous silicon this long range order is not present and the atoms form a continuous random network. Not all the atoms within amorphous silicon are four-fold coordinated. Due to the disordered nature of the material some atoms have a dangling bond. These dangling bonds are defects in the continuous random network, which cause anomalous electrical behavior. 

• Silicon (Si) Metal & Powder, Amorphous, Typical Chemical Properties Available:

a) 98% min. for technical grade silicon metal lumps, granules & powder

b) A purity as high as 99.995% for lumps, coarse granules, 100/200 mesh, and 200 x 325 mesh powder

• Silicon (Si) Metal & Powder, Amorphous, / Nanoparticle Physical Properties Available:

Lump, pressed targets, and many powder granulations frequently to customer specification down to as fine as 50 nanometers

• Silicon (Si) Metal & Powder, Amorphous, Nominal Physical Constants:

• Silicon (Si) Metal & Powder, Amorphous, Typical Applications:

a) Amorphous silicon is an alloying agent (hardener) in iron and aluminum, the production of silicones, an addition to ceramics, welding rods, powder metallurgy, pyrotechnics, ammunition, ordnance, refractories, electronic substrates, cement, vapor deposition, plasma spray, chemical formulations, and grinding wheels

b) Amorphous silicon metal is important to the electronic industry, as it is the base material used in the manufacture of high purity polycrystalline silicon. These products are used in the manufacture of semiconductors, microchips for computers and solar cells used to capture electrical energy from the sun.

c) Amorphous silicon is used to produce ultra-pure silicon wafers used in the semiconductor industry, in electronics and in photovoltaic applications. Ultra-pure silicon can be doped with other elements to adjust its electrical response by controlling the number and charge (positive or negative) of current carriers. Such control is necessary for transistors, solar cells, integrated circuits, microprocessors, semiconductor detectors and other semiconductor devices which are used in electronics and other high-tech applications. In Photonics, silicon can be used as a continuous wave Raman laser medium to produce coherent light, though it is ineffective as a light source. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon is used in the production of low-cost, large-area electronics in applications such as LCDs, and of large-area, low-cost thin-film solar cells.

d) a-Si has been used as a photovoltaic solar cell material for calculators for some time. Although they are lower performance than traditional c-Si solar cells, this is not important in calculators, which use very low power. a-Si's ability to be easily deposited during construction more than makes up for any downsides.

e) More recently, improvements in a-Si construction techniques have made them more attractive for large-area solar cell use as well. Here their lower inherent efficiency is made up, at least partially, by their thinness - higher efficiencies can be reached by stacking several thin-film cells on top of each other, each one tuned to work well at a specific frequency of light. This approach is not applicable to c-Si cells, which are thick as a result of their construction technique and are therefore largely opaque, blocking light from reaching other layers in a stack.

f) The main advantage of a-Si in large scale production is not efficiency, but cost. a-Si cells use approximately 1% of the silicon needed for typical c-Si cells, and the cost of the silicon is by far the largest factor in cell cost. However, the higher costs of manufacture due to the multi-layer construction have, to date, make a-Si unattractive except in roles where their thinness or flexibility are an advantage.

g) Typically, amorphous silicon thin-film cells use a p-i-n structure. Typical panel structure includes front side glass, TCO, thin film silicon, back contact, polyvinyl butyral (PVB) and back side glass. Uni-Solar produces a version of flexible backings, used in roll-on roofing products.

h) Hydrogenated amorphous silicon is used in the production of low-cost, large-area electronics in applications such as LCDs, and of large-area, low-cost thin-film solar cells.

• Silicon (Si) Metal & Powder, Amorphous, Packaging Options:

50 lb. bags, steel drums, bulk bags

• Silicon (Si) Metal & Powder, Amorphous, TSCA (SARA Title III) Status:

Listed. For further information please call the E.P.A. at +1.202.554.1404

• Silicon (Si) Metal & Powder, Amorphous, Chemical Abstract Service Number:  

CAS# 7440-21-3

• Silicon (Si) Metal & Powder, Amorphous, UN Number:  

1346 and 3089