Effect of solution concentration on the surface properties of Y^sub 2^O3 solution-coated film on flexible Metal Substrate

In order to investigate the effect of solution concentration on the surface properties of Y^sub 2^O3 films dipcoated on a flexible metal substrate, films were coated on unpolished Hastelloy substrate followed by a heat treatment process to convert the film to amorphous Y^sub 2^O3. Solutions of different molarities were used to deposit films with different thicknesses, and the surface smoothness and morphologies were investigated. The thickness of the film increased along with the molarity of the coating solution. The rate of improvement of the smoothness was fast when solutions of high molarity were used; this rate improvement can help reduce the number of coatings needed to reach the desired level of smoothness. It was found that multiple coated Y^sub 2^O3 film has a smooth surface because the film covers up the irregular surface contours of the substrate.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]