Epitaxial pore-free gadolinia-doped ceria thin films on yttria-stabilized zirconia by RF magnetron sputtering

A thin film of gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) grown on (001) single crystal of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was produced by RF magnetron sputtering using a stoichiometric target. Films deposited at room temperature showed columnar porosity which changed to equiaxed on annealing at 1150 °C. It is shown that films deposited at 500 °C were epitaxial, uniform in thickness, pore-free and remained dense after annealing at 1150 °C. This method can be used to attain reproducible control over important characteristics of the film such as structure, composition, orientation, thickness and morphology.