Complex admittance measurements were made of ZrO2-Y2O3 thin films in a parallel-plate geometry. Highly-textured films, grown by means of radio-frequency sputtering, permitted the measurement of complex admittances, free of the effect of charge-blocking at grain boundaries. The low-temperature (close to ambient) regime, dominated by the association of O vacancies, was examined. Complex admittance data, analyzed in terms of the modulus formalism, furnished information on correlation effects in ion motion and yielded an association energy (0.45eV), for the O vacancies, which was in agreement with previous theoretical calculations.

Electrical Conductivity Relaxation in Thin-Film Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia. A.Rivera, J.Santamaría, C.León: Applied Physics Letters, 2001, 78[5], 610-2