Microstructure of gadolinium doped ceria oxide thin films formed by electron beam deposition

Electron beam deposition technique was used for formation of gadolinium doped ceria oxide (GDC) thin films. GDC thin films were grown by evaporating (Ce0.9Gd0.1)O1.95 ceramic powder. Operating technical parameters that influence thin film microstructure and crystallite size were studied. The GDC thin films were deposited on two different types of substrates: porous nickel oxide–yttrium stabilized zirconium (NiO–YSZ) and Alloy 600 (Fe–Ni–Cr). The influence of electron gun power on thin film (2–5 μm of thickness) structure and surface morphology were investigated by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that electron gun power (changed in the range of 0.66–1.05 kW) has the influence on the crystallite size (it varied between 9.8 and 20.9 nm) of GDC thin films and decreased linearly increasing e-beam gun power. Also, it was found that a bias voltage applied to the substrate during the deposition of thin films has an influence on the densification and crystallite size of GDC layers.