China announced Tuesday it is banning exports to the United States of gallium, germanium, antimony and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications, as a general principle, lashing back at U.S. limits on semiconductor-related exports.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry announced the move after the Washington expanded its list of Chinese companies subject to export controls on computer chip-making equipment, software and high-bandwidth memory chips. Such chips are needed for advanced applications.
The ratcheting up of trade restrictions comes as President-elect Donald Trump has been threatening to sharply raise tariffs on imports from China and other countries, potentially intensifyi
Long story short, they’re silicon doping agents that change the properties of semiconductors. China produces like 90% of these rare earth elements.
Gallium for example is used in the new smaller USB power supplies marketed as GaN gallium nitride, in this case used instead of silicon due to the better thermals at high power and smaller physical size.
Seymour Cray was building a Gallium Arsenide CPU when he left Cray Research.