Electrochemical Determination of the Oxygen Solubility of Liquid Silicon and the Role of the Electron Conduction of the Electrolyte

Abstract

It is shown that with respect to the oxygen solubility of liquid silicon, an electrochemical oxygen sensor based on a solid‐oxide electrolyte is not qualified to provide better solubility data than the analyzing techniques used to date. The crucial obstacle is that under the operation conditions the solid electrolyte exhibits a remarkable electronic conduction which substantially falsifies the evaluation of the experimental data. This is revealed by a strict thermodynamic approach to the essential points of the experimental procedure which results in the determination of the oxygen solubility. © 1999 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.