The Separation of Indium and Copper from Spent Cu-In Targets

Nowadays, the CIGS solar cells produced process, only 30% of the original target material is used, while the rest 70% need to be recycled in order to achieve the resources sustainable. Common methods to separate and recover indium include precipitation, solvent extraction, ion-exchange, and electrolytic processes. This research is to investigate the recovery and purification of indium from spent sputtering targets so that the recovered and purified indium can be reused in the thin film and semiconductor industries. The processes selected include ion-exchange resin, solvent extraction, and zone refining. Eventually, indium recovery using ion exchange and solvent extraction has high recoveries. Further purification was conducted by electrowinning and zone refining process. The indium product of zone refining can be used as raw material of indium sputtering target.