vcselrevolution re: "There is not enough gallium to replace silicon outright"

That is 100% true if you include concrete, asphalt, bricks, glass, beaches, playgrounds, sand boxes, etc.. Of course we are not talking about that.

"I wish they would stop saying that it will. I mean, compared to the abundance of silicon in the earth's crust, gallium Is just shy of not existing"

"just shy of existing"? In the earth's crust, there is ~ 6100 times more gallium than gold, and 2 times more gallium than lead. I don't think this qualifies as non exisitent.

I am not an expert on getting gallium out of the earth's crust, so can't comment on that, but I do know that most gallium is extracted as a byproduct of aluminum and zinc production, and is is also extracted from the flue dusts of coal.

I don't think we need to worry about the gallium supply for many decades, if at all. There will also be many applications where silicon still makes more sense. All IMHO.

Good luck!!