Silicon-based Thin Film Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Array

摘要

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) have been known for their clean and efficient energy conversion. SOFCs utilize a range of ceramic electrolyte materials, with yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as the most common choice. Traditional SOFCs operate at relatively high temperatures (800-1000°C) due to their low oxide ion conductivity and high activation energy. Reducing the operating temperature is important to expand the field of SOFC applications, such as power sources for portable electronics. Reducing the electrolyte thickness by means of thin film deposition techniques to the submicrometer range is one way to reduce the Ohmic loss in SOFCs at lower temperature. In this paper, a miniature thin film fuel cell array is designed and fabricated targeting at reduced operating temperature as a potential portable power source.