Before jumping on its uses, I'll fist proceed to give GaN a proper definition for those of you who never heared of (Gallium Nitrides) so I'll make it simple.
Gallium Nitride or GaN (Which is the official writing and chemical formula) is a brand new type of material that is composed of two commonly used materials Gallium and Nitrogen which are part of third and the fifth columns of the periodic table, and for this particular reason we label Gallium Nitride as a III-V material. This makes it different because it is considered as a conductor material (Able to conduct electricity) and isolator (Prohibits the circulation of electrons therefore it prohibits the passage of electricity) which makes it a large band gap semiconductor. One of the most remarkable characteristics this material holds is a suitable band gap of 3.4 eV (electron volts).
A band gap is a tiny micro-space or gap located in an atom in which physical reactions happen, on the other hand, the larger this gap can be, the more likely it is for a material to store electricity (Electric charges). So if we compare this band gap value to other well known and commonly used materials as Silicium or Germanium which respectively hold a value of 1.12 and 1.67 eV therefore notice that they hold an inferior band gap to store energy compared to GaN which makes this last one a better electricity saver.
On the other hand, GaN is also known for its structural solidity due to its hexagonal and cubical crystal structure, (hexagonal and cubical structures can be defined as the way molecules take their places and positions next to each other to form a material, this happens on the molecular scale and can be seen through a microscope).
Since this material is made out of Indium and Nitrogen which are generally in abundance in the earth, this has attracted material engineers and technology manufacturers to use this material in divert technologies such as LED's (Light Emitting Diodes: A technology consisting of tiny light bulbs that emit light in various colors, depending on the material used) like the GaN based violet laser diodes that are used to read the Blu-ray Discs.
Due to this materials high electric efficiency, the use of GaN has notoriously skyrocketed in our modern world as well as its high demand from technology companies, this chart summarizes the different use of semiconductor materials by different technology manufacturers:
Written by: Wahard
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