Fabrication of Ba(Ce, Zr)_0.9Y_0.1O_3-α Thin Film on a Dense Pd Substrate by Ultraviolet Metalorganic Deposition

The formation of dense thin films to obtain an intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) that uses Ba(Ce_1−xZr_x)_0.9Y_0.1O_3−α (BCZYO, x = 0, 0.3, 1) as the proton conductor was attempted on a dense Pd substrate at low sintering temperatures by the metalorganic deposition (MOD) method. A BaCe_0.9Y_0.1O_3−α (BCYO) thin film (thickness 0.8 μm) was prepared by MOD and then annealed at 850°C on a Pd substrate with low heat resistance. However, there are problems such as the very low density of the BCYO film and the presence of a PdO interlayer between the film and the Pd substrate. The densification of the crystallized BCYO thin film, which is about 0.5-μm thick, was improved by introducing a UV-assisted MOD process. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) eliminated the PdO interlayer. In addition, the formation of dense thin films of BCZYO was achieved by the same UV-MOD (RTA) method. Therefore, the successful application of UV-MOD (RTA) to the formation of BCZYO thin films at low sintering temperatures was established.