Deposition of YSZ Thin Films by Atmospheric Plasma-Assisted Pulsed Laser Ablation

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin films have been deposited on a nickel-based substrate by a laser-assisted plasma coating technique at atmospheric pressure. The substrate is heated by an atmospheric plasma torch to 800 °C to form a thermally grown oxide layer and is increased to 1000 °C during film deposition. The deposited films show columnar structures similar to films deposited in high-vacuum deposition methods. The microstructures of the deposited YSZ films have been examined by focused-ion beam and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.