DECOMPOSITION POTENTIALS OF CRYSTALLINE SILICON AS RELATED TO THE PHOTOCURRENT STABILITY OF P-N-JUNCTION SILICON SEMICONDUCTOR ELECTRODES

The use of highly doped n** plus - or p** plus -type silicon layers as electrodes allowed us to measure the onset potentials, U//o//x, of anodic currents corresponding to the oxidation of Si in aqueous solutions of various pH's. The U//o//x value obtained is 0. 8-1. 1V more positive than the thermodynamic redox potential epsilon (SiO//2/Si) for the Si oxidation, indicating that this electrode reaction has a large activation energy. No definite current peak corresponding to the formation or the re-oxidation of surface silicon hydride was observed when scanned up to a potential ca.