GaAs solution growth experiment in microgravity using Get Away Special program

Abstract

Sn-doped GaAs crystals were grown from Ga-As solution using a gradual cooling method aboard the space shuttle Columbia and on the ground. The sample, six GaAs substrates assembled to form a cube with Ga solvent placed in the resulting box, was firstly heated to dissolve the substrate surfaces into the solution and then cooled gradually to recrystallize onto the substrates. Type II striation-free growth was achieved in the microgravity experiment while striations occurred in reference samples grown on the ground. Flat interfaces were maintained during both dissolution and crystal growth in microgravity.