Andrew Barnes, Senior Technology Engineer
If you have a Blu-ray player than you own a tiny crystal of Gallium nitride (GaN) – used in high-performance blue lasers. Versatile GaN has been called the most promising semiconductor since silicon.
Its ‘wide bandgap’ nature means it can operate with high RF output power, low noise, or at high temperature – silicon electronics will not function beyond about 180ºC but GaN will go on working at temperatures as high as 500 ºC to 600 ºC. As a plus, it is also inherently radiation resistant.