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Gallium Arsenide vs. Optical Silicon

Both gallium arsenide and optical silicon are non-glass optical ceramics. There are 13 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (10, in this case) are not shown. Please note that the two materials have significantly dissimilar densities. This means that additional care is required when interpreting the data, because some material properties are based on units of mass, while others are based on units of area or volume.

For each property being compared, the top bar is gallium arsenide and the bottom bar is optical silicon.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 85
150
Knoop Hardness 750
1130
Poisson's Ratio 0.31
0.28

Thermal Properties

Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1400
1560
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 360
700
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 47
150
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 5.6
3.0

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 5.3
2.3
Light Transmission Range, µm 1.0 to 16
1.2 to 15
Refractive Index 3.4
3.5

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 8.9
35
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 28
75
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 25
93