Solubility - Solid Solution

Solid Solution

This term is often used in the field of metallurgy to refer to the extent that an alloying element will dissolve into the base metal without forming a separate phase. The solubility line (or curve) is the line (or lines) on a phase diagram that give the limits of solute addition. That is, the lines show the maximum amount of a component that can be added to another component and still be in solid solution. In the solid's crystalline structure, the 'solute' element can either take the place of the matrix within the lattice (a substitutional position, for example: chromium in iron) or take a place in a space between the lattice points (an interstitial position, for example: carbon in iron).

In microelectronic fabrication, solid solubility refers to the maximum concentration of impurities one can place into the substrate.