Microgravity-enabled growth of uniform InAsSb bulk single crystal

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Authors: Jidong Huang, Huaiwen Zheng, Yin Zhigang, Jinliang Wu, Zhengchang Xia, Xiuhong Pan, Ji Jiang, Dianchen Zhu, Meibo Tang, Xuechao Liu, Xingwang Zhang
Cited by: 0
References: 43

Abstract

The growth of compositionally uniform InAs 1-x Sb x bulk crystals remains a formidable challenge due to severe solute segregation and morphological instability under terrestrial conditions. Here, we report the successful growth of a single-crystalline InAs 0.933 Sb 0.067 alloy ( x = 6.7 mol%) on an InAs seed via the vertical gradient freeze method aboard the China Space Station. Crucially, microgravity enables diffusion-dominated solidification by suppressing buoyancy-driven convection. As a direct consequence, the crystal is free of macroscopic voids and striations, exhibits a tenfold reduction in dislocation density, and maintains Sb compositional uniformity (±0.5 mol%) over its entire ~11 mm diameter and ~2.5 mm growth length. Moreover, the microgravity-grown crystal outperforms its terrestrial counterpart in both crystalline quality and electrical properties. These findings highlight that microgravity provides a unique pathway to overcome the intrinsic limitations of ground-based growth, enabling crystal quality unattainable on Earth — with potential relevance to advanced optoelectronic applications.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Solidification and crystal growth phenomena Advanced Semiconductor Detectors and Materials Crystallization and Solubility Studies

Publication details

Journal / source
npj Microgravity
Volume
12
Issue
1
Publication date
25 February 2026
Language
EN