Tohoku University/Osaka University/Nagoya University, JAPAN

Abstract：

In order to understand the difference of crystal growth mechanism from solutions at various environments, high resolution in-situ methods have been developed and employed not only on the Earth but also in space at International Space Station (ISS). Growth rate of solution grown crystal in space (microgravity) has been thought to be much smaller than in normal gravity conditions because of the absence of convection and flows. However, no precise measurement has been conducted so far in space environment. We developed a special interferometer and microscopes for the space experiments, the use of which have led us to an interesting result that the growth rate of solution grown crystals is equal or even larger than those in normal gravity. This was successful because we could measure the growth rate in space as precisely as on the ground. In this talk, the results based on two different approaches, i.e., phase-shift interferometer and frequency-modulation AFM, will be presented.

Prof. Katsuo Tsukamoto:

His interest covers the areas of the fundamental studies of crystal growth mechanisms from liquids, the origin of solar materials that we say “crystallization 4.6 billion years ago”, protein crystal growth and perfection of semiconductor crystals, like GaN and SiC. He has also been interesting in in-situ experiments in microgravity for more than 20 years and have done many in-situ observations of crystal growth in space using rockets and international space station. Even now, many interferometric data on the growth mechanism of protein crystals have been arriving from International Space Station at our laboratories. He is the winner of Frank Prize in 2013 that was given by International Organization of Crystal Growth.

邀请人：鲁年鹏 研究员（9122）

联系人：王立芬 副研究员（9963）