Phase Equilibrium Relations in the Sc2O3-Ga2O3 System.

Abstract

The phase equilibrium diagram was determined for the Sc₂O₃-Ga₂O₃ system. A quenching furnace, wound with 60 percent Pt-40 percent Rh wire, was employed for experiments conducted at temperatures up to 1,800 °C. An induction furnace, having an iridium crucible susceptor, was used to obtain higher temperatures. Temperatures in the quenching furnace were measured with both an optical pyrometer and a 95 percent Pt-5 percent Rh versus 80 percent Pt-20 percent Rh thermocouple. The melting point of Ga₂O₃ was determined as 1,795 ±15 °C. Experiments at temperatures as high as 2,405 °C failed to melt Sc₂O₃. Two intermediate binary phases, a compound believed to be 6Sc₂O₃·5Ga₂O₃ and a solid solution occur in the system. The solid solution phase appears as a single phase in the region roughly defined by the compositional limits of 55 to 73 mole percent Ga₂O₃ at the solidus. The 6:5 compound, stable only at high temperatures, melts incongruently at 1,770 ±15 °C and decomposes below 1,700 ±15 °C. The compound appears to have orthorhombic symmetry with a=13.85 A, b= 9.80 A, and c=9.58 A. The indicated uncertainties in the melting points are a conservative estimate of the overall inaccuracies.