Another Western monopoly gone: GaN semiconductors

How was it ever a "western monopoly"? In the 1980's I worked on a machine that produced 95% of the single crystal gallium arsenide made in the west, but nobody imagined that the Russians or the Chinese couldn't have built something similar.

The ASML lithography machine would be harder to copy, but you don't need fine line optical lithography to make GaAs parts.

For low volume stuff electron-beam lithography is fine. One electron beams lithography machine we sold to had an acceptance test that involved making three five inch wafers worth of GaAs transistors, and somebody worked out that all those transistors (once diced and packaged) could have been sold for the roughly the million dollar price of the machine.

That's a hilariously inept video.

Is GaN pronounced "gone"?

Even the most failed of chemists can tell you that GaN is pronounced "gallium nitride".