Theoretical investigation of diffusion and electrical properties of yttria-stabilized zirconia thin film

• Published in: Thin solid films Vol. 732; p. 138787
• Main Authors: Lam, Le Thu, Hung, Vu Van, Hai, Dang Thanh, Hieu, Ho Khac
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 31.08.2021
• Subjects: Diffusion property; Electrical property; Statistical moment method; Yttria-stabilized zirconia thin film; Diffusion property; Yttria-stabilized zirconia thin film; Electrical property; Statistical moment method
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2021.138787

•Diffusion and electrical properties of yttria-stabilized zirconia thin film are investigated.•Importance of interaction potential and lattice vibrations is highlighted.•Diffusion coefficient, ionic conductivity of external layers are greatly enhanced.•Diffusion coefficient, ionic conductivity increase with decreasing film thickness. The diffusion and electrical properties of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin film with fluorite structure are theoretically investigated using the statistical moment method. Our results show the lattice expansion with the thickness reduction and the diffusion coefficient and ionic conductivity of YSZ thin film with thickness ranging from 10 nm to 20 nm are more than one to two orders of magnitude enhancement in comparison with those of bulk YSZ. The thickness dependence of the lattice constant, diffusion coefficient, and ionic conductivity is attributed to the interaction potential and anharmonicity lattice vibrations occurred at the external layers. The influence of the external layers on the diffusion and electrical properties of thin film decreases with the increasing thickness and this influence is negligible with the thickness exceeding 1000  nm. The roles of substrate and grain boundary are ignored in the present study. Our study contributes to the experiments related to the effect of the external layers on the diffusion and electrical properties of YSZ thin film.