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Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) having a thin yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte was prepared on the anode electrode of a porous Ni-YSZ cermet substrate using the RF ion plating method. The constitutional YSZ electrolyte films were characterized based on dependence on the electron beam current and annealing treatment. A thin YSZ electrolyte film evaporated at higher electron emission current indicated a columnar structure with longitudinal pinholes in the film. By annealing temperature above 1300°C, YSZ film was improved as a denser film having a bulk electrolyte structure. Furthermore, the conductivity of thin YSZ film was increased with increasing the annealing temperature, although its conductivity became smaller by about three figures than the theoretical value of the bulk electrolyte.

Article

The performance of a single solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) was studied using a thin yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte film grown by RF magnetron sputtering in mixtures of argon and oxygen. It is found that crystal system of YSZ electrolyte film controlled by plasma sputtering added oxygen to argon. The density of YSZ electrolyte film was improved with an increase of (111) cubic system by adding 14% oxygen. Maximum current density of a single SOFC having YSZ electrolyte film prepared by adding 14% oxygen obtained 147.5 mA at terminal voltage of 239 mV at the operating temperature of 1000°C. Moreover the resistance of the cell reduced from 9.1 Ω to 4.9 Ω.