Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is one of the most common electrolytes in high temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFCs). We utilize atomic layer deposition (ALD) to fabricate the electrolyte of SOFC, which may potentially improve several fundamental characteristics of SOFC. Recently, our group demonstrated that ultra-thin ALD YSZ SOFSs can deliver high power density at low temperatures [1]. These SOFCs demonstrated not only reduction of Ohmic loss, but also enhancement of surface kinetics.

The focus of this work is to investigate the surface and bulk conduction characteristics of YSZ films produced by ALD. In plane conductivity was measured as a function of film thickness and temperature dependence. YSZ thin films were deposited on standard 4 ” quartz substrates with thicknesses ranging from 8 nanometers to 55 nanometers. Micro-electrodes were patterned on top of the ALD YSZ layer by standard photolithography process. The impedances of the YSZ thin films with different thicknesses were measured. We have observed higher conductivities for thinner films which were attributed to higher oxide ion conductivity in the vicinity of the surface, and similar phenomenon was observed with YSZ films produced by electron beam evaporation [2].