Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell: Electrolyte Deposited by Reactive Magnetron Sputtering and Cell Test

In this work the deposition of a thin YSZ electrolyte layer (< 10 μm) on a porous anode substrate is performed by sputtering Zr–Y metallic targets in argon–oxygen reactive gas mixtures under unstable deposition conditions. A plasma emission monitoring system is used to ensure a high deposition rate of the ceramic film. The deposition parameters are optimised in order to obtain a good compromise between quality, density and deposition rate for coatings realised under unstable conditions. After a short description of the experimental setup, the characterisation of the YSZ coatings is performed using scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction and permeability measurements. Then a complete cell incorporating a thin YSZ electrolyte layer (6.2 ± 0.3 μm thick) obtained by magnetron sputtering is manufactured and tested. This single planar solid oxide fuel cell exhibits a power density of 560 mW cm–2under a voltage of 0.7 V at 800 °C and a maximal power density of 660 mW cm–2is reached.