Magnetron sputtered yttria stabilized zirconia doped with Mn

Abstract

8 at. % yttria stabilized zirconia (8YSZ), doped with 0.25 at. % Mn, was deposited on a Si (100) substrate using radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The film was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction (XRD). They were used in order to obtain information regarding the composition and uniformity of the samples, determine their crystal structure, and measure the film thicknesses, respectively. In addition, the kinetics of the YSZ phase growth was investigated. Several samples were heat treated for 1 h in air at various temperatures in the range of 750–900 °C, which made it possible to estimate the apparent activation energy of the process. The activation energies were determined by intensity change and thickness variation with temperature. A decrease in film thickness was observed, and the growth of the YSZ phase showed low activation energies of 0.61 and 0.51 eV by thickness and intensity measurements, respectively. As expected, the composition complies with the composition of 8YSZ since the sputtering target was 8YSZ. No XRD shift of peaks was observed relative to undoped 8YSZ, apparently because the concentration of Mn was low.