Nitrate-based metalorganic deposition of CeO₂ on yttria-stabilized zirconia

An aqueous nitrate metalorganic deposition (MOD) process was used to form a 30-nm-thick c-axis-textured ceria (CeO₂) layer on a yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) single-crystal substrate. X-ray diffraction showed the CeO₂ layer was an (001) oriented film with a ω-scan full width at half-maximum of 1.47°. The average roughness of the ceria films, measured by atomic force microscopy, was about 5 nm. Critical current densities of up to 3.6 × 10⁶ A/cm² were measured on a 0.35-μm Ba₂YCu₃O_7−x (YBCO) layer deposited over this cap layer using a trifluoroacetate (TFA)-based MOD ex situ process. The physical vapor deposition-derived ceria cap layer used in the most common coated conductor buffer layer stacks may be replaced by such a MOD processed film.