Microstructure - Property Relationships in Nanocrystalline Oxide Thin Films

Results of studies of the preparation, structure and physical properties of nanocrystalline CeO2, ZrO2:16% Y (YSZ) and SrCeO3:5% Yb oxide thin films are presented. A polymeric precursor spin coating technique has been used to obtain dense specimens with stable and uniform microstructure controlled in the grain size range of 1-400 rim. A variety of characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction, impedance spectroscopy, Raman scattering and optical absorption have been used for the evaluation of the microstructure-property relationships. Nanocrystalline specimens are characterized by enhanced electrical conductivity and different stoichiometry compared with microcrystalline materials. A direct comparison has been achieved between the conductivity and quantum confinement effects observed in optical measurements and correlated with a defect model.