Preparation of defect-free alumina insulation film using layer-by-layer electrohydrodynamic jet deposition for high temperature applications

Ultra-high temperature thin-film sensors（UTTSs）have drawn enormous attention due to their wide application prospect in multiple physical parameters monitoring in harsh environment. As an important part of UTTSs, the insulation film between workpiece and sensors plays a crucial role to ensure the accuracy of UTTSs. High insulation resistance (IR) is essential for the reliability improvement of the UTTSs and the reduction of their testing error. However, the defects in the insulation film will form the conductive path between the sensors and their mounting surface at high temperature, leading to a rapid IR drop and stability deterioration of the insulation film. In this work, 10 μm thick alumina film was prepared with suspension made out of alumina gel and alumina nano-powder using layer-by-layer electrohydrodynamic jet (E-jet) deposition (LLED). By adopting this technique, the process defects in one layer can be remedied in situ by the next deposition layer. The prepared film shows satisfactory insulation performance at elevated temperature, and IR of the film can reach 80 MΩ, 3 MΩ and 38 kΩ at 500 °C, 800 °C and 1200 °C, respectively. The thickness-normalized IR of the alumina film at 800 °C in this work is at least 7.8 times that obtained by other methods reported in the literatures. Moreover, after subjected to three thermal cycles from room temperature to 1200 °C, the IR of the film can still remain at 14 kΩ. The high performance of the alumina insulation film in this work can be attributed to the effective reduction of the minor defects in the LLED deposition process.