Phase stability, grain growth and photoluminescence property of nanocrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia film under 500Â keV Xe6+ ion irradiation

Nanocrystalline yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) film (with 8 mol% Y2O3) was synthesized via a sol-gel method. Phase stability, grain-growth and defects of the YSZ film were investigated under 500 keV Xe6+ ions irradiation to doses up to an average value of 22.2 displacements per atom (dpa). Atomic force microscope results show that the surface of the as-grown YSZ film is quite smooth and free of cracks. Transmission electron microscope results reveal that the average grain-size of the as-grown samples is around 12.6 nm. With increasing irradiation does up to 22.2 dpa, the average grain size increases, no phase transformation or amorphization is observed, which indicates that the phase structure of the nanocrystalline cubic YSZ film is quite stable. Two strong and broad emission peaks were detected in the YSZ film, and the emission intensity decreases obviously after irradiation. The possible mechanism of the grain growth was also discussed.