Germanium

Germanium Latest News

Recently, in a major defence-tech breakthrough, Hyderabad based company has developed India’s first germanium-free thermal imaging payload for drones.

About Germanium

• It has the chemical symbol Ge and the atomic number 32.
• It is a silvery-gray metalloid, intermediate in properties between the metals and the nonmetals. 
• Properties of Germanium
  • It has a diamond-like crystalline structure, and it is similar in chemical and physical properties to silicon. 
  • It is stable in air and water and is unaffected by alkalis and acids, except nitric acid.
  • It remains of primary importance in the manufacture of transistors and of components for devices such as rectifiers and photocells.
  • It is widely distributed in nature but is too reactive to occur free. 
• Germanium ores are rare. They are found in small quantities as the minerals germanite and argyrodite.
• It is extracted as a by-product of zinc production and from coal fly ash. 
• It is estimated that 75% of worldwide production of germanium is sourced from zinc ores, mainly the zinc sulfide mineral sphalerite, and 25% from coal.
• Applications: Its main use is to produce solid-state electronics, semiconductors and fiber optic systems.
• Major Producers
  • The major worldwide producer of germanium is China, responsible for around 60% of total production. 
  • The remaining production of germanium comes from Canada, Finland, Russia, and the United States.

Source: BT

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