Influence of bias voltage and oxygen flow rate on morphology and crystallographic properties of gas flow sputtered zirconia coatings

Thermal cycling experiments were conducted between 100 °C and 1050 °C. Although no large scale spallation was observed, the former columnar coating degraded due to sintering, resulting in sinter necks between former single columns and diminished intra-columnar porosity. However, high oxygen flow rate and moderate bias increase the resistance to sintering due to coarser morphologies.