Effect of gravity on the mixing of In-Sb melt

In order to investigate the effect of gravity on the mixing of indium (In) and antimony (Sb) melts under the uniform temperature, an In-Sb sample without a free melt surface was melted and solidified both under microgravity and on earth. In the earth-processed sample, the indium concentration was not uniform because of the gravitational segregation. On the other hand, the indium concentration in the space-processed sample became fairly uniform. From the measurement of concentration distribution in the solidified samples, the effective diffusion coefficient of indium into Sb was estimated to be (1.3-2.4) x 10(-4) cm(2)/s. During the cooling process, many InSb needle crystals were formed and finally residual solution was solidified.