Features: May 20, 2002

Crystal Growth Experiment To Lift Off May 30

An experiment by a Rensselaer researcher to grow homogenous semiconductor crystals in microgravity is expected to take flight June 5 aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor and head for the International Space Station.

	Thomas Griffin

The experiment, headed by Aleksandar Ostrogorsky, associate professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering, and of materials science and engineering, will be one of the first materials science experiments conducted on the space station.

The microgravity environment will allow Ostrogorsky and his team to closely observe how semiconductor crystals form in space. The researchers will focus on how impurities, or dopants, in semiconductor crystals can be redistributed to yield a more homogenous material.

The experiment, called "Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules" (SUBSA), is a Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) investigation. An MSG is a sealed box that contains the experiment. Astronauts can manipulate the experiment by inserting their hands into a pair of gloves that reach inside the box, although much of the experiment will be remotely controlled. For more details of the experiment, see April 16 Campus.News article.

"About half of my time since last April has gone toward perfecting the ampoules for the flight. It's been tedious but rewarding work, and I realize how lucky I was to be in the right place at the right time with the right experiment," Ostrogorsky admitted. The ampoules, which contain the material that will be observed for crystal growth, were made at Rensselaer.

Also involved in the research are Carlos Marin, post-doctoral associate, and Linda Jeter, project manager from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

SUBSA is part of a larger project called Space- and Ground-based Crystal Growth Using a Baffle, which has received more than $1 million from NASA since 1993.