Oxygen ion conductivity in samarium and gadolinium stabilized cerium oxide heterostructures

Abstract Gadolinium (GDC) and samarium (SDC) doped ceria were investigated in terms of multilayer systems, evaporated by e-beam technique on optical quartz, Alloy600 and sapphire substrate. GDC-SDC heterostructures of 1.3 μm thicknesses, composed of 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 layers and they were investigated by structural and ionic conductivity techniques. Bragg peaks show nanocrystalline state of Gd and Sm doped ceria thin films. XRD patterns show fluorite type structure with space group Fm3m. The XRD analysis of thin films, deposited on quartz substrate, reveals the increase of (220) peak with increasing number of layers. The decrease of (111) peak is slightly notable, also. Thin film heterostructures have a face-centered cubic cell with the following lattice parameters, such as 5.4180 nm for GDC of and of 5.4245 nm for SDC. The scanning electron microscopy cross sectional analysis of three-layered structure clearly indicates the interfaces of different material. There are no visually distinct discontinuities in higher layer structures (5–7 layers). Total conductivity increases linearly with increasing of temperature, but decreases with the increase of number of layers. The highest total ionic conductivity at 1214 K temperature for SDC and GDC thin monolayers was 1.62 S/m and 1.02 S/m, respectively. The activation energy increases with the increase of number of layer as well.