Gallium is found in trace amounts in zinc ores and in bauxite, and gallium metal is produced when processing bauxite to make aluminium. Transphorm uses ultra thin layers of gallium nitride that are a micron, or one thousandth of a millimetre thick, on its semiconductors. "If you are already banking on gallium nitride and designing it into your platform, then you're in trouble," he said. A source at a Japanese automotive supplier told Reuters the company was weighing up whether to use gallium nitride or silicon carbide for future power semiconductors. "People have to look for other options, but gallium nitride is hard to replace, said the CMI's Neill.

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Persons: Umesh Mishra, Mishra, Transphorm, Alastair Neill, Transphorm's Mishra, Neill, Nick Carey, Daniel Leussink, Christina Amann, Zoey Zhang, Matt Scuffham, David Evans Organizations: Alliance, micron, Critical Minerals Institute, Reuters, Infineon, Canada's GaN Systems, Thomson Locations: China, Goleta , California, Tokyo, Berlin, Shanghai