Porous silicon-based potassium ion selective electrode

Porous silicon (PS)-based potassium ion selective microelectrode (K/sup +/ISME) was fabricated by using microelectronic planar process and electrochemical anodization etching technique. The apparent sensing area of the K/sup +/ISME is 8 mm by 8 mm. The calibration curve for the K/sup +/ISME is linear within a wide range of pK=1.0/spl sim/4.0. Its slope is 56 mV per decade, which is near Nernst response. The long-term stability of the K/sup +/ISME is good. The variation of the response is within /spl plusmn/2 mV during 2 months. Good performances of the K/sup +/ISME are attributed to large specific surface area and easily modified microstructure of PS.