What is Indium Coating Used For?
The short answer is quite a lot, and some uses are so common and widespread, you may be a little surprised. Let’s explore the applications of Indium coatings further…
Indium Coating – What Is That?
The most common use of Indium coatings is an ITO coating. ITO stand for Indium Tin Oxide – the special aspects of this coating are two-fold: It is optically clear and it is also highly conductive. This allows a substrate such as plastic or glass to become conductive, whilst retaining its transparency.
Indium Coatings Applications
You most likely come into contact with an ITO coated device of some sort on a daily basis. The majority of touchscreen devices (including your cell phone) utilise ITO within the glass touchscreen.
By applying a small voltage to the surface of the screen, when the screen is touched the device can register the exact location and gesture of touch due to a change in the charge on the screen.
The automotive industry also utilises ITO coatings in a number of areas, including dashboard touch displays and capacitive light switches that are activated via touch. Heated windows in cars (and planes and trains) use ITO coated glass – the glass can have a small charge running through it to de-mist and heat… perfect on those cold mornings.
Other industries include medical and military in a number of different areas. As well as this, ITO coatings are used for flat panel displays and plasma screens.
Another area where Indium coatings has been utilised well is in electron microscopy and in particular ITO coated microscope slides. By running charge through the glass slide, there is no need to run a charge through the specimen.
ITO coated glass is also being used for low emissivity glass windows as it allows better regulation of temperature to reduce environmental impact.
Do you need Indium Coating?
If you are looking for the leading supplier of Indium coatings in the US, you need to talk to us. Please make contact with us today. Once we know your exact requirements, we can advise on our range of products and how we might best help you.