Characterization of electrolyte films deposited by using RF magnetron sputtering a 20 mol% gadolinia-doped ceria target

20 mol% Gd-doped ceria (20GDC) electrolyte films on poly-crystalline Al2O3 substrates were prepared by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering from a 20GDC oxide target, which was made by the processes of colloidal dispersion-pressure casting-sintering. Material characteristics of the 20GDC oxide target and the deposited films before and after annealed at 900 °C for 2 h were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and conductivity measurements. Crack-free and dense 20GDC electrolyte films were observed by the deposition conditions of 200 W (RF power). Homogeneity tests revealed the chemical compositions (Ce and Gd) were uniformly distributed through the bulk of the target and the deposited films. 20GDC film with a comparable conductivity of 1.00 × 10− 3 S/cm at 650 °C is higher than that of bulk yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), but smaller than that of bulk GDCs (10GDC and 20 GDC). Sputtered-GDC films in this study can be also suggested to be used as the electrolyte films for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) systems as compared to the well-known YSZ.