It was constructed from silicon carbide to maintain good shape while being as light as possible.

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Gallium nitride, or GaN, converts electrical impulses to light and is grown on the surface of wafers made from sapphire or silicon carbide.

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Their results suggest 55 Cancri e is largely composed of carbon (in the form of graphite and diamond), iron, silicon carbide, and, potentially, silicates.

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Both sapphire and silicon carbide are somewhat exotic, expensive materials.

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Under current manufacturing techniques, manufacturers take their sapphire or silicon carbide wafer and chop, or cut it into individual chips, which get tested and packaged.

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They look bulky but weigh little, because he constructs them from lightweight materials such as titanium, carbon nanofiber and alusic (a blend of aluminum and silicon carbide).

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In addition to harnessing hydroelectric power from an existing 60-megawatt plant to make silicon carbide, used in various industries, Taniguchi realized he could make plenty of cheap hydrogen fuel with current technology.

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Gallium-nitride is manmade and not found in nature, and historically, LEDs are made by growing a gallium-nitride layer on top of a base material, which is typically sapphire or, more recently, silicon carbide.

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The slim devices are arranged in rows across a support structure made of silicon carbide, a very light and very stiff material that will not bend or warp when it experiences the temperature extremes of space.

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Sapphire and silicon carbide are great technologies.

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