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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Because smart skins are grown by depositing layer upon layer, the base coating can be used as a foundation for adding other ingredients to tailor the material's properties for specific purposes.

ECONOMIST: MONITOR