Gallium Arsenide vs. Synthetic Sapphire
Gallium arsenide belongs to the non-glass optical ceramics classification, while synthetic sapphire belongs to the oxide-based engineering ceramics. There are 13 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (12, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is gallium arsenide and the bottom bar is synthetic sapphire.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 85 | |
| 450 |
| Knoop Hardness | 750 | |
| 1860 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.31 | |
| 0.28 |
Thermal Properties
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1400 | |
| 2050 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 360 | |
| 760 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 47 | |
| 30 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 5.6 | |
| 5.3 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 5.3 | |
| 4.0 |
| Light Transmission Range, µm | 1.0 to 16 | |
| 0.17 to 5.5 |
| Refractive Index | 3.4 | |
| 1.8 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 8.9 | |
| 63 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 28 | |
| 64 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 25 | |
| 9.9 |