Microgravity silicon

Croell, A. Muller, W. Nitsche, R. Floating zone growth of surface coated silicon under microgravity. J. Cryst. Growth. 1985, 79, 65-70. 

In our laboratory, we have recently conducted gelation studies of silica nanopardcles in microgravity during the STS-95 space shuttle mission (28). Stable silica nanoparticle dispersions may be form either by polymerization of silicic acids in an aqueous system or through hydrolysis and condensation of silicon alkoxides (the sol-gel or Stober route). Comparison of small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements of Ludox, a commercial aqueous silicate with acid- and base-catalyzed alkoxides shows that only aqueous silicate sols are uniform, whereas alkoxides generate fractal particles. As Brinker and Scherer point out (29), these results illustrate that sols derived from aqueous silicates are... 

However, for molten semiconductors, particularly for molten silicon, the temperature dependence of diffusion constants has not been made clear. The measurement of the diffusion constant under microgravity was a driving force to improve the measurement techniques development of diffusion cells made of ceramics, appHcation of a shear cell technique, and so on [94]. Application of a strong static magnetic field could also be effective in suppressing convection on Earth [95]. The diffusion... 

H. Nagai, Y. Nakata, T. Tsurue, H. Minagawa, K. Kamada, S. E. Gustafsson, and T. Okutani, 2000, Thermal Conductivity Measurement of Molten Silicon by a Hot-Disk Method in Short-Duration Microgravity Environments , Jpn. 

T. Azami, S. Nakamura, and T. Hibiya, 2001, Effect of o gen on thermocapillary convection in a molten silicon column under microgravity , J. Electrochem. Soc. 148, G185-G189. 

H. Fujii, T. Matsumoto, S. Izutani, S. Kiguchi, K. Nogi, Surface tension of molten silicon measured by microgravity oscillating drop method and improved sessile drop method. Acta Mater. 54(5), 1221-1225 (2006)... 

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