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Indium Spooled Wire
Available Configurations
Properties common to all products in this list
| Purity | Diameter | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 99.999% (5N) | 0.25mm to 2.4mm | 25mm to 100m |
Need custom configurations? Please contact us.
Key Features
Indium spooled wire possesses a combination of material characteristics that make it particularly well suited for low-temperature joining, vacuum sealing, cryogenic systems, and precision optics:
Low Melting Point (156.6 °C)
Indium's melting point of 156.6 °C enables low-temperature soldering and joining without thermal damage to sensitive substrates. This makes it valuable for bonding infrared optical components, semiconductors, and assemblies where conventional solders would introduce excessive heat.
Outstanding Ductility and Malleability
Indium is one of the softest and most ductile metals, allowing wire to be formed, wound, and shaped without cracking. It conforms readily under light compression, making it ideal for gasket applications where a leak-tight seal must be maintained across thermal cycles.
Excellent Wetting Behavior Without Flux
Indium bonds directly to glass, ceramics, and many metals without the need for flux. This fluxless adhesion is particularly valuable in vacuum and hermetic assemblies where flux residues would compromise cleanliness or outgassing performance.
Thermal Cycling Stability
Indium seals remain malleable and leak-tight under repeated thermal cycling, accommodating the differential expansion of dissimilar materials. This property is critical in cryogenic systems, where joints must perform reliably across wide temperature excursions.
Superconductivity Below 3.41 K
Indium becomes superconducting below 3.41 K, making high-purity wire a useful material in low-temperature physics research, superconducting device fabrication, and experiments requiring defined electrical behavior at cryogenic temperatures.
Spooled Format for Controlled Dispensing
The continuous spooled format ensures consistent wire geometry, reduces handling-related contamination, and minimizes material waste. It suits both small-scale laboratory use and automated dispensing in volume production, delivering reproducibility across experimental and manufacturing runs.
Industrial Applications
High-purity indium spooled wire is used across precision industries for its unique combination of low melting point, ductility, and reliable bonding behavior:
- ✦ Vacuum & Hermetic Sealing
- Used as gasket and seal material in high-vacuum and ultra-high-vacuum systems, where indium's malleability and fluxless wetting ensure leak-tight joints on metal, glass, and ceramic flanges without contaminating the vacuum environment.
- ✦ Cryogenic & Superconducting Systems
- Employed as compressible gaskets and joints in superconducting magnets, dilution refrigerators, and cryostats, where indium remains ductile at liquid helium temperatures and accommodates the contraction of dissimilar materials during cooldown.
- ✦ Infrared Optics & Detector Mounting
- Used for bonding and sealing infrared optical components and focal plane arrays, where low process temperatures prevent thermal damage to sensitive detector materials and adhesive-free joints maintain optical alignment.
- ✦ Microelectronic & Semiconductor Bonding
- Applied in die attach, flip-chip bonding, and solder bump formation, where indium's ductility absorbs stress from thermal cycling and its low melting point protects temperature-sensitive device structures.
- ✦ Low-Temperature Physics Research
- Used as a superconducting material and joining medium in experimental physics, where its transition temperature of 3.41 K and high purity make it suitable for cryogenic electrical contacts and defined low-resistance connections.
Synonyms
Material Properties
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Atomic number | 49 |
| Crystal structure | Face centred tetragonal |
| Electronic structure | Kr 4d¹⁰ 5s² 5p¹ |
| Valences shown | 1, 2, 3 |
| Atomic weight( amu ) | 114.82 |
| Thermal neutron absorption cross-section( Barns ) | 194 |
| Photo-electric work function( eV ) | 4.12 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 113/ 4.3 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 115/ 95.7 |
| Atomic radius - Goldschmidt( nm ) | 0.157 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 3/ 28.0 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | Apr-54 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 2/ 18.9 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 1/ 5.79 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Material condition | Polycrystalline |
| Material condition | Soft |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.45 |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.45 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 35.3 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 35.3 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 10.6 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 10.6 |
| Hardness - Vickers( kgf mm⁻² ) | 10 |
| Tensile strength( MPa ) | 2.6-4.5 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Electrical resistivity( µOhmcm ) | 8.8@20°C |
| Superconductivity critical temperature( K ) | 3.41 |
| Temperature coefficient( K⁻¹ ) | 0.0052@0-100°C |
| Thermal emf against Pt (cold 0C - hot 100C)( mV ) | 0.69 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Boiling point( C ) | 2080 |
| Density( gcm⁻³ ) | 7.3@20°C |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Melting point( C ) | 156.6 |
| Latent heat of evaporation( J g⁻¹ ) | 2024 |
| Latent heat of fusion( J g⁻¹ ) | 28.5 |
| Specific heat( J K⁻¹ kg⁻¹ ) | 234@25°C |
| Thermal conductivity( W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ ) | 81.8@0-100°C |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion( x10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ ) | 24.8@0-100°C |
Tolerances
| Diameter | ±10% | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | +5% / -1% |