Effect of Microaccelerations on the Distribution of a Dopant in a Semiconductor Melt during Space Flight

The effect of residual microaccelerations on the distribution of a dopant in a semiconductor melt located in a heated closed cavity onboard an Earth-orbiting satellite is considered in the context of a model problem of thermal convection. The amplitude–frequency characteristics of the response of this distribution to the perturbing microaccelerations are obtained. It is demonstrated that the effect of low-frequency microaccelerations decreases when the frequency increases. A comparison is made of the macroscopic inhomogeneities of the dopant concentration due to the actual low-frequency (quasi-static) component of microaccelerations onboard different spacecraft: the orbital station Mir, the satellite Foton-11, a Space Shuttle orbiter, and the International Space Station. A substantial effect of the rotational motion of the spacecraft on the character of the time behavior of a macroscopic inhomogeneity is demonstrated.