Bias-assisted magnetron sputtering of yttria-stabilised zirconia thin films

Cubic yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin films were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering on NiO-YSZ fuel cell anodes under different conditions. The influence of substrate bias voltage, temperature and porosity on texture and morphology of the deposited films were investigated. Comparing film morphology of YSZ grown on NiO-YSZ anodes, it was found that films deposited on a substrate with a large porosity were columnar and contained voids regardless of the deposition parameters. It was shown that only using of anode support with very high surface quality, substrate heating up to 500 °C and pulsed substrate bias (about -30 V MF) during film deposition is necessary for deposition of non-columnar thin films without voids and cracks that may be suitable for SOFC application.