Influence of oxygen, hydrogen, helium, argon and vacuum on the surface behavior of molten InSb, other semiconductors, and metals on silica

Examination of published sessile-drop results for liquid metals and semiconductors on silica revealed that W and σsv were highest for reactive melts, in which SiO2 dissolves. For non-reactive melts, W and σsv were lower and θ higher in a gas than in a vacuum, regardless of whether the experiments had been carried out in sealed ampoules, a flowing gas, or dynamic vacuum. The implication is that the surface of silica was different in a vacuum than in a gas at ∼1 bar.