Properties of Gadolinium-doped Ceria (GDC) Films Deposited by Reactive Magnetron Sputtering Processes

Reactive magnetron sputtering deposition technique was used for formation of gadolinium doped ceria (GDC) 5-10 mu m thin films. Material characteristics and chemical compositions of GDC films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In order to optimize the deposition of GDC to obtain high electrochemical performance of the cells, the influence of film thickness is studied. The GDC thin films were deposited on porous NiO-GDC; the pre-sintered anode green tapes were coated with a GDC electrolyte film by reactive magnetron sputtering using PEM (Plasma Emission Monitoring). An Alcatel SCM650 sputtering chamber was used for synthesizing the dense GDC layers. A Ce-Gd metallic target (90-10% at) was powered by a pinnacle + pulsed current generator from Advanced Energy. The structural, microstructural and morphological features of the half-cells were determined by XRD and SEM as deposited and after different annealing treatments. The obtained half-cell, 28 mm of diameter, anode supported solid oxide fuel cell, the porosity and density of Ni-GDC10 composite anodes have been elaborated by tape casting method. The chosen ceramic powders in suspension were prepared with the mass ratio of 65:35 for NiO to GDC10. Finally, Pycnometry and porosimetry techniques were primarily used to determine pore size and pore volume by Washburn equation and ideal gas law method.