Thermophysical properties of highly doped Si and Ge melts under microgravity

We have investigated thermal expansion and surface tension of highly doped Si and Ge melts under microgravity conditions. The experiments were conducted in the TEMPUS facility on-board of a Zero-G aircraft. The thermophysical properties were quantified by analyzing the images of levitated droplets. Both Si and Ge are metallic in their solid state at the doping (P and Sb) of 1× 10¹⁹ atoms cm^-3. However, thermal expansion and surface tension of highly doped Si and Ge melts did not show significant changes in comparison with undoped samples. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.