Gallium Arsenide (GaAs): Properties, Synthesis, and Applications
published on 2025-04-24
Gallium Arsenide (GaAs), with the chemical formula GaAs, is a black-gray solid with a melting point of 1238°C. It remains stable in air at temperatures below 600°C and is resistant to corrosion by non-oxidizing acids.
Gallium arsenide is a crucial semiconductor material classified as a III-V compound semiconductor. It crystallizes in a zinc blende lattice structure, with a lattice constant of 5.65×10⁻¹⁰ m and a melting point of 1237°C. The material has a bandgap energy of 1.4 eV. Gallium arsenide became commercially viable in 1964. It can be fabricated into semi-insulating high-resistance materials with resistivity three orders of magnitude higher than that of silicon or germanium, making it ideal for use as substrates in integrated circuits, infrared detectors, and gamma photon detectors. Due to its electron mobility being 5 to 6 times greater than that of silicon, gallium arsenide is widely used in the fabrication of microwave devices and high-speed digital circuits. Semiconductor devices made from gallium arsenide exhibit superior performance in high-frequency, high-temperature, and low-temperature conditions, along with low noise and strong radiation resistance. Additionally, it is suitable for the production of transfer devices such as bulk effect devices. Gallium arsenide is a semiconductor material that combines multiple advantages, but transistors made from it have a low amplification factor and poor thermal conductivity, making them less suitable for high-power applications. Although gallium arsenide offers exceptional performance, its tendency to decompose at high temperatures makes the production of high-purity single-crystal materials with an ideal chemical composition technically challenging.
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