Tellurium recrystallization under microgravity conditions and the resulting properties of samples

Abstract: Three experiments on the tellurium recrystallization by a modified Bridgman method were performed under microgravity conditions on board the Mir orbital space laboratory using a ChSK-1 Kristallizator furnace. The physical properties of samples were studied, including the final crystal structure, the distribution of impurities and defects, and the charge carrier concentration and mobility. The results were compared to the analogous parameters of crystals remelted using the same method under the normal gravity conditions. It is established that the samples recrystallized in a close volume under the on-board microgravity conditions “break off” from the container walls and touch the walls only in a few points. This circumstance gives rise to special effects, such as the growth of crystals with a free surface and deep supercooling. Study of the distribution of electrically active impurities over the length of ingots shows evidence of the presence of thermocapillary convective flows in the melt under the microgravity conditions. The flows tend to increase upon separation of the melt from the container walls. The contributions due to impurities and electrically active structural defects to the charge carrier distribution are taken into account. The single-crystal sample obtained upon the partial recrystallization of tellurium in a close container volume under the on-board microgravity conditions exhibits the electrical characteristics comparable to those of a crystal grown by the Czochralski technique under the normal gravity conditions.