Reactive co-sputter deposition of YSZ coatings using plasma emission monitoring

This work focuses on the high rate (> 1.5 μm·h− 1) codeposition of yttria-stabilised zirconia electrolyte coatings obtained by reactive magnetron sputtering from metallic Zr and Y targets using plasma emission monitoring. After a short description of the experimental setup which consists of a closed loop control system using optical emission spectroscopy, the influence of the discharge parameters for both Zr and Y targets on the resulting composition of the coating and deposition rate is described. These phenomena are then discussed regarding the metal-oxygen reactivity of both targets and the possibility to exploit oxygen deficient coatings deposited at high rate is presented owing to the deposition of dense coatings on porous substrates.