Study of ytterbium implanted calcia stabilized zirconia thin films and yttria stabilized zirconia single crystals

Abstract

Abstract Calcia stabilized zirconia thin films and yttria stabilized zirconia single crystals were Yb implanted at 150 and 210 keV, and at various doses up to 1.3 × 1017 ions/cm2 in order to modify locally the oxygen transport properties. Rutherford back-scattering and nuclear microanalysis on the implanted thin films give information about the implantation profiles and sputtering yields. The results show that the ratio of the sputtering rates of two elements of the film is equal to their concentration ratio. At high implantation doses the Yb profile is nearly flat in the surface region with [Yb]/[Zr] = 1.1. 18O tracing experiments demonstrate that a significant oxidation of the implanted samples occurs in air at room temperature. Further oxidation takes place during a 500 °C annealing in air which does not modify the Yb profile and leads to a final mean composition (ZrO2)x(Yb2O3)y (CaO)z. For the YSZ single crystals, channelling measurements demonstrate that the implanted region is highly damaged. As YSZ and Yb stabilized zirconia have the same lattice parameter, after high temperature annealing (1000 to 1300°C), a good crystalline quality and a full epitaxy with the YSZ substrate is achieved in this region even for the highest implantation dose. The annealings do not modify markedly the Yb profiles.