Spin Coated YSZ Thin Films on Silicon Substrate
Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) thin films (<10 μm) were fabricated by spin coating technique on silicon (Si). Parameters such as concentration ratio of YSZ powder to solvent were varied accordingly. The effects of these variations were investigated and discussed. Using X-ray Diffraction and Raman Spectroscopy, the crystal structure of the samples were determined. The 8-YSZ thin films have cubic fluorite structure. The X- ray diffraction patterns were in agreement with the samples' Raman spectra. Pores were evident on single coated substrates but were minimized using higher YSZ concentration. Index Terms—Yttria Stabilized Zirconia,YSZ, spin-coating, thin film ——————————  ——————————
DC Sputtering of yttria-stabilised zirconia films for solid oxide fuel cell applications
Yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) thin films were dc-sputtered and investigated with respect to surface morphology, microstructure and film-substrate interface interaction. The films were deposited under argon/oxygen atmospheres on NiO/YSZ substrates heated to between 500 and 700°C. Dense and crack-free coatings were obtained in the thickness range of 1 to 10 μm. The film morphology varied from columnar to crystalline structure depending on the oxygen pressure and the substrate temperature. Whereas the coated films consisted of YSZ with cubic and tetragonal crystal structure under low oxygen atmospheres, the same deposition experiments on Al2O3 substrates revealed highly disordered layers of cubic YSZ. The formation of oxide layers on the NiO/YSZ substrates is due to a film-substrate redox interaction. The NiO grains close to the coating interface are partially reduced and serve as an oxygen source for the oxidation of the film. An exponential decay of the gas leakage vs. coating thickness was found.
The influence of grain boundary misorientation on ionic conductivity in YSZ
Abstract Molecular dynamics (MD) was used to investigate the structure and ion transport properties of three interfaces in 8 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ); namely the Σ5 (310)/[001] and Σ13 (320)/[001] tilt grain boundaries and Σ5 (111) 60° twist grain boundary. Atomic interactions were described by a potential function of the Buckingham form. Diffusion rates of oxide ions in the grain boundary containing systems showed that the tilt grain boundaries reduce the overall ionic conductivity relative to a single crystal of 8 mol% YSZ, while the Σ5 twist boundary is able to support rapid diffusion and increases the total conductivity. The effect of segregation of dopant ions to the boundary regions was also investigated.