Yttria-stabilized zirconia thin film electrolyte produced by RF sputtering for solid oxide fuel cell applications

Thin film (40-600 nm) yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) were deposited on NiO-YSZ anodes and fused silica substrates by RE sputtering, using low applied power without the use of post deposition annealing heat treatment. YSZ film showed a nanocrystalline structure and consisted of the Zr Y-85 O-15(1) (93) (fcc) phase The film was dense and the YSZ/anode interface was continuous and crack free According to preliminary in-plane conductivity measurements (temperature range 550-750 degrees C) on the YSZ film, the activation energy for ionic conduction was found to be 1 18 +/- 0 01 eV (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved