Will New Gallium and Germanium Restrictions Impact the Tech Supply Chain? (.PDF Download)

On Aug. 1, China put new restrictions in place for the export of two minerals that the semiconductor manufacturing industry relies on: gallium and germanium. A chemical element, gallium is a soft, silvery-white metal that melts at the lowest melting point of any metal in the periodic table. As a semiconductor that can conduct electricity under certain conditions, gallium is frequently used to make lasers, transistors and other electronic devices.