| タイトル | Ground Based Experiments in Support of Microgravity Research Results-Vapor Growth of Organic Nonlinear Optical Thin Film |
| 著者（英） | Wessling, Francis C.; Carswell, William E.; Zugrav, M. Ittu; Haulenbeek, Glen B. |
| 著者所属（英） | Alabama Univ. |
| 発行日 | 2001-03-01 |
| 言語 | eng |
| 内容記述 | This work is specifically focused on explaining previous results obtained for the crystal growth of an organic material in a reduced gravity environment. On STS-59, in April 1994, two experiments were conducted with N,N-dimethyl-p-(2,2-dicyanovinyl) aniline (DCVA), a promising nonlinear optical (NLO) material. The space experiments were set to reproduce laboratory experiments that yielded small, bulk crystals of DCVA. The results of the flight experiment, however, were surprising. Rather than producing a bulk single crystal, the result was the production of two high quality, single crystalline thin films. This result was even more intriguing when it is considered that thin films are more desirable for NLO applications than are bulk single crystals. Repeated attempts on the ground to reproduce these results were fruitless. A second set of flight experiments was conducted on STS-69 in September 1995. This time eight DCVA experiments were flown, with each of seven experiments containing a slight change from the first reference experiment. The reference experiment was programmed with growth conditions identical to those of the STS-59 mission. The slight variations in each of the other seven were an attempt to understand what particular parameter was responsible for the preference of thin film growth over bulk crystal growth in microgravity. Once again the results were surprising. In all eight cases thin films were grown again, albeit with varying quality. So now we were faced with a phenomenon that not only takes place in microgravity, but also is very robust, resisting all attempts to force the growth of bulk single crystals. |
| NASA分類 | Space Processing |
| 権利 | No Copyright |
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