Gold-Coated Silicon Wafer

See more Gold products. Gold (atomic symbol: Au, atomic number: 79) is a Block D, Group 11, Period 6 element with an atomic weight of 196.966569. The number of electrons in each of Gold's shells is 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 1 and its electron configuration is [Xe]4f¹⁴² 5d¹⁰ 6s¹. The gold atom has a radius of 144 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 217 pm. Gold was first discovered by Early Man prior to 6000 B.C. In its elemental form, gold has a metallic yellow appearance. Gold is a soft metal and is usually alloyed to give it more strength. It is a good conductor of heat and electricity, and is unaffected by air and most reagents. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements. Gold is often found as a free element and with silver as a gold-silver alloy. Less commonly, it is found in minerals as gold compounds, usually with tellurium.

See more Silicon products. Silicon (atomic symbol: Si, atomic number: 14) is a Block P, Group 14, Period 3 element with an atomic weight of 28.085. The number of electrons in each of Silicon's shells is 2, 8, 4 and its electron configuration is [Ne] 3s² 3p². The silicon atom has a radius of 111 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 210 pm. Silicon was discovered and first isolated by Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1823. Silicon makes up 25.7% of the earth's crust, by weight, and is the second most abundant element, exceeded only by oxygen. The metalloid is rarely found in pure crystal form and is usually produced from the iron-silicon alloy ferrosilicon. Silica (or silicon dioxide), as sand, is a principal ingredient of glass, one of the most inexpensive of materials with excellent mechanical, optical, thermal, and electrical properties. Ultra high purity silicon can be doped with boron, gallium, phosphorus, or arsenic to produce silicon for use in transistors, solar cells, rectifiers, and other solid-state devices which are used extensively in the electronics industry.The name Silicon originates from the Latin word silex which means flint or hard stone.