The Advantages of Semiconductor Manufacturing in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for Terrestrial Use

Topic Matter Specialists (SMEs) in semiconductor and in-space manufacturing collaborated on a white paper that outlines how microgravity advantages the manufacturing of semiconductors and associated supplies. Earth’s gravitational forces pose substantial obstacles to fast, high-yield semiconductor manufacturing. Microgravity provides a path to beat these obstacles. There are additionally substantial sensible advantages to incorporating LEO-based manufacturing into the provision chain. The white paper argues that transitioning this trade into area is a path ahead to attaining NASA’s In House Manufacturing Functions’ (InSPA) objectives. These objectives embody strengthening U.S. technological management, enhancing nationwide safety, creating high-quality jobs, offering advantages to humanity, and enabling the event of a strong financial system in LEO.

The paper, “Semiconductor Manufacturing in Low Earth Orbit for Terrestrial Use,” could be discovered right here.

Further info on NASA’s InSPA portfolio could be discovered at:

www.nasa.gov/inspa

Courtesy of NASA

Featured Picture: NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Megan McArthur works within the Microgravity Science Glovebox swapping samples for an experiment referred to as Solidification Utilizing a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules, or SUBSA. The physics investigation explores experimental strategies of crystallizing melts in microgravity and is predicted to lead to lowered fluid movement within the soften, main to higher distribution of subcomponents and the potential for improved know-how utilized in producing semiconductor crystals.