Vapor deposition of thin-film Y-doped ZrO2 for electrochemical device applications

摘要

Solid oxide electrolytes based on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) are widely used in applications such as oxygen sensors, solid oxide fuel cells, oxygen pumps, electrocatalytic reactors, and electrochemically driven oxygen separation membranes. However, bulk YSZ is used in these applications. This requires high operating temperatures in order to minimize ohmic loss. One alternative of overcoming this problem is to use a thin film of the electrolyte. In the work, the authors have grown polycrystalline thin films of fully stabilized Y-ZrO(sub 2) on thick porous Al(sub 2)O(sub 3) substrates in multilayer La(sub 1(minus)x)Sr(sub x)MEO(sub 3)YSZ/La(sub 1(minus)x)Sr(sub x)MEO(sub 3) (ME = Mn, Co) configurations using a combination of single-target RF magnetron sputtering and electron beam physical vapor deposition techniques. The structure and morphology of these films have been studied using X-ray diffraction, and Scanning Electron Microscopy techniques. The ionic conductivity of the thin films has been measured using AC impedance analysis.