Gallium arsenide is a III-V compound semiconductor with a zinc blende crystal structure and a direct band gap, which lets it emit and absorb light far more efficiently than silicon and made it the material of choice for high-frequency and optoelectronic devices even though it is more brittle and expensive to produce. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Primary UseMicrowave-frequency integrated circuits, infrared light-emitting diodes and laser diodes, solar cells, and optical windows. 1 Origin YearYear commercial production of gallium arsenide monocrystals began, not the year the compound itself was first identified. Classification
Material Class Connections
Associated With
A semiconductor material used in high-frequency and optoelectronic devices.
Gallium arsenide was used in the earliest infrared and red LEDs.
Silicon, Materials Gallium arsenide and silicon are the two principal semiconductor materials in electronics
Solar Cell, Inventions Gallium arsenide is used in high-efficiency solar cells, notably for spacecraft.
Source Gallium Arsenide (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Gallium arsenide's higher electron mobility than silicon makes it the preferred semiconductor for high-frequency and high-power transistors used in radio-frequency and satellite electronics, at a higher manufacturing cost than silicon.
Source Gallium Arsenide (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
In Field
Sources
1. Gallium Arsenide (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Gallium arsenide is used in the manufacture of devices such as microwave frequency integrated circuits, monolithic microwave integrated circuits, infrared light-emitting diodes, laser diodes, solar cells and optical windows.
History section
Commercial production of its monocrystals commenced in 1954, and more studies followed in the 1950s.
Introduction
Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a III-V direct band gap semiconductor with a zinc blende crystal structure.
material-class sentence
Gallium arsenide is a III-V compound semiconductor with a zinc blende crystal structure and a direct band gap, which lets it emit and absorb light far more efficiently than silicon and made it the material of choice for high-frequency and optoelectronic devices even though it is more brittle and expensive to produce.
Associated With: Transistor, Comparison with silicon for electronics, GaAs advantages subsection
It has a higher saturated electron velocity and higher electron mobility, allowing gallium arsenide transistors to function at frequencies in excess of 250 GHz.
Associated With: Solar Cell, Solar cells and detectors section
Gallium arsenide is an important semiconductor material for high-cost, high-efficiency solar cells and is used for single-crystalline thin-film solar cells and for multi-junction solar cells.
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