Influence of the yttria content on the mechanical properties of Y2O3-ZrO2 thin films prepared by EB-PVD

Abstract A mechanical characterization study of the whole range (ZrO 2 ) 1− x –(Y 2 O 3 ) x system is presented for thin film samples. Films have been prepared by Electron Beam Physical Vapour Deposition (EB-PVD) on Si(1 0 0) substrates. The mechanical characterization, obtained from nanoindentation and Brillouin Light scattering (BLS) techniques, shows a monotonous behaviour between the two pure compounds of the series except for the film with 0.08 Y 2 O 3 molar content of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) solid solution that presents an anomalous hard value. Additionally, BLS is presented as an alternative technique to the study of the mechanical properties of this system.