Gallium Nitride (GaN)

Wide-bandgap semiconductor for high-efficiency power electronics and LEDs.

Core Principles & Analysis

• GaN's 3.4 eV bandgap enabled the efficient blue LED, recognized by the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics for Akasaki, Amano, and Nakamura.
• GaN power transistors switch far faster than silicon, shrinking laptop and phone chargers to a fraction of their former size.
• Bulk GaN crystals are difficult to grow, so most devices are epitaxial GaN films deposited on sapphire, SiC, or silicon substrates.

Specifications & Metrics

• DENSITY: 6.15 g/cm³
• HARDNESS: 1200 HV