Indium
Strategic material used in indium tin oxide (ITO) for touchscreens and displays, solders, and advanced semiconductors.
Properties
Indium (In): The Element that Reveals Color
The story of indium begins in 1863 in Germany. Chemists Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymus Theodor Richter were analyzing zinc ores by spectroscopy and expected to find thallium. Instead of known spectral lines, they observed a deep, unprecedented indigo line. That striking chromatic signal gave the metal its name (indium, from indigo). Long a laboratory curiosity, indium only took off at the end of the 20th century. Today it is the fundamental element behind indium tin oxide (ITO), the transparent, conductive material indispensable to flat touch displays (LCD and OLED)—the metal that literally brought light and touch to our digital lives.
Key Applications
Market Data
Indium (In): Master of Touch Surfaces
Indium, known for its indigo spectral line, enabled modern digital interaction. Alloyed with tin (indium tin oxide), it produces the only known material that is both transparent and electrically conductive.
Strategic Applications: Touchscreens (smartphones, tablets, kiosks), flat‑panel displays (LCD and OLED), thin‑film photovoltaics.
Industrial Interest: Indium secures access to interface technology; structural demand in electronics will grow with proliferating interactive surfaces in automotive and home.
Risks & Substitutes
Constrained (byproduct) supply; low elasticity and price volatility.
TCO substitutes: AZO, FTO, graphene, silver nanowires — transparency/resistivity/cost trade‑offs.
Demand sensitive to display and PV cycles.