Semiconductors and Crystals
Can microgravity improve the crystals and substrates used to make chips, and is there a market?
Chapter summary
the physics is plausible, the market logic is harder.
Key takeaways
- 1
Semiconductor crystals and thin films grown without convection can be more uniform, with fewer defects; Space Forge in the UK launched ForgeStar-1 in June 2025 and reported generating plasma in orbit in December 2025, a step towards growing crystals in a free-flyer, and United Semiconductors won a NASA InSPA Phase 2 contract in August 2026 to scale crystal production on the ISS and reserved space on Starlab.
- 2
But semiconductor substrates are sold by the wafer at prices of hundreds to a few thousand dollars, worth tens of thousands of dollars per kilogram, far below capsule costs per kilogram.
- 3
The case rests on seed crystals or high-value niche materials, not bulk wafers.
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