Yttria-stabilized zirconia thin films deposited by pulsed-laser deposition and magnetron sputtering

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ, ZrO2:Y2O3) was deposited on (100) silicon by two physical vapor deposition techniques: pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and reactive magnetron sputtering (RMS). PLD thin films were grown on silicon substrates at 500 °C from the ablation of a 8YSZ ceramic target by a KrF excimer laser. RMS thin films were obtained by direct current magnetron sputtering of a Zr/Y metallic target in an oxygen/argon atmosphere. The deposition rate of the PLD technique using an UV excimer laser delivering pulses at a repetition rate of 40 Hz was found two orders of magnitude lower than the RMS method one. Both techniques led to the growth of crystalline films with a (111) preferential orientation. PLD films were dense and featureless whereas RMS ones exhibited well defined but compact columnar structure. Growth of a YSZ film of about 1 μm covering a rough and porous commercial anode support (NiO–YSZ cermet) was successfully carried out with both methods.