Abstract:
The disclosure relates to a method of purifying cadmium and tellurium and forming pure, stoichiometric cadmium telluride therefrom as well as the apparatus for making such cadmium telluride. The cadmium and tellurium are purified by heating each separately to volatilization and passing water in a reducing gas through the volatilized cadmium and tellurium to react with impurities and form gases or precipitates. The cadmium and tellurium are volatilized at different predetermined temperatures such that the amount of each volatilized will be the same so that reaction later takes place with stoichiometric amounts of the elements to form the cadmium telluride. The cadmium telluride is then condensed at low enough temperature so that the remaining gases pass out of the system.
Abstract:
A 99.99% pure indium feed is charged into crucible 8 and heated to 1250° C. by upper heater 6 in a vacuum atmosphere at 1×10−4 Torr, whereupon indium evaporates, condenses on the inner surfaces of inner tube 3 and drips to be recovered into liquid reservoir 9 in the lower part of tubular member 11 whereas impurity elements having lower vapor pressure than indium stay within crucible 8. The recovered indium mass in liquid reservoir 9 is heated to 1100° C. by lower heater 7 and the resulting vapors of impurity elements having higher vapor pressure than indium pass through diffuser plates 12 in the upper part of tubular member 11 to be discharged from the system whereas the indium vapor recondenses upon contact with diffuser plates 12 and returns to liquid reservoir 9, yielding 99.9999% pure indium while preventing the loss of indium.
Abstract:
A method of refining crude cadmium by vacuum distillation in which crude cadmium is passed into a reflux condenser in which higher boiling point impurities are condensed together with a portion of pure cadmium vapor, this condensate flowing in counterflow with the crude cadmium vapor. The remaining portion of the pure cadmium vapor is subsequently condensed. The apparatus comprises an inverted U-shaped vacuum chamber having an evaporator and a reflux condenser in one leg and a further condenser in the other leg. A feed pipe for liquid crude cadmium enters the one leg adjacent the evaporator and a residue outlet pipe leaves the one leg, the feed pipe and the residue pipe being arranged so that no back-flow takes place from the residue pipe to the feed pipe. An outlet pipe for the refined cadmium issues from the other leg of the vacuum chamber.
Abstract:
A 99.99% pure indium feed is charged into a crucible and heated to 1250 null C. by an upper heater in a vacuum atmosphere at 1null10null4 Torr, whereupon indium evaporates, condenses on the inner surfaces of an inner tube and drips to be recovered into a liquid reservoir in the lower part of a tubular member, whereas impurity elements having a lower vapor pressure than indium stay within the crucible. The recovered indium mass in the liquid reservoir is heated to 1100null C. by a lower heater and the resulting vapors of impurity elements having a higher vapor pressure than indium pass through diffuser plates in an upper part of the tubular member to be discharged from the system, whereas the indium vapor recondenses upon contact with the diffuser plates and returns to the liquid reservoir, yielding 99.9999% pure indium, while preventing the loss of indium.
Abstract:
A 99.99% pure indium feed is charged into crucible 8 and heated to 1250null C. by upper heater 6 in a vacuum atmosphere at 1null10null4 Torr, whereupon indium evaporates, condenses on the inner surfaces of inner tube 3 and drips to be recovered into liquid reservoir 9 in the lower part of tubular member 11 whereas impurity elements having lower vapor pressure than indium stay within crucible 8. The recovered indium mass in liquid reservoir 9 is heated to 1100null C. by lower heater 7 and the resulting vapors of impurity elements having higher vapor pressure than indium pass through diffuser plates 12 in the upper part of tubular member 11 to be discharged from the system whereas the indium vapor recondenses upon contact with diffuser plates 12 and returns to liquid reservoir 9, yielding 99.9999% pure indium while preventing the loss of indium.
Abstract:
A 99.99% pure indium feed is charged into crucible 8 and heated to 1250null C. by upper heater 6 in a vacuum atmosphere at 1null10null4 Torr, whereupon indium evaporates, condenses on the inner surfaces of inner tube 3 and drips to be recovered into liquid reservoir 9 in the lower part of tubular member 11 whereas impurity elements having lower vapor pressure than indium stay within crucible 8. The recovered indium mass in liquid reservoir 9 is heated to 1100null C. by lower heater 7 and the resulting vapors of impurity elements having higher vapor pressure than indium pass through diffuser plates 12 in the upper part of tubular member 11 to be discharged from the system whereas the indium vapor recondenses upon contact with diffuser plates 12 and returns to liquid reservoir 9, yielding 99.9999% pure indium while preventing the loss of indium.
Abstract:
Impurities are extracted from a thin-film device structure based on mercury, cadmium, zinc, and/or tellurium, such as HgCdTe, CdTe, CdZnTe, or HgCdZnTe. The impurities are extracted by furnishing a sink medium comprising molten bismuth, and contacting the contaminated structure to the sink medium for a period of time sufficiently long that impurities diffuse out of the structure and into the bismuth for removal. The molten bismuth may additionally contain small amounts of one or more of the major components of the structure (mercury, cadmium, zinc, and/or tellurium) to inhibit loss of these elements from the structure.