Effects of substrate rotation speed during deposition on the thermal cycle life of thermal barrier coatings fabricated by electron beam physical vapor deposition

The effects of substrate rotation speed during deposition of an Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ) layer fabricated by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) on the microstructure, elastic modulus and lifetime were investigated. The microstructure and elastic modulus of EB-PVD YSZ coatings were highly influenced by the rotation speed of the substrates. The elastic modulus of the coatings was found to decrease as the rotation speed was increased, which led to a longer thermal cycle life.