Phase transition model analysis of ZrO2 thin film deposited by electron-beam evaporation

Temperature induced phase transition model was brought forward in this paper. ZrO2 and YSZ thin films were prepared by electron-beam evaporation method and their laser induced damage thresholds(LIDT) were measured; Moreover, structure of ZrO2 and YSZ coating materials and thin films was tested by X-ray diffraction. These results indicate that ZrO2 coating material and thin films are monoclinic phase and YSZ coating material and thin films are cubic phase; LIDT of 7% and 13% mole fraction YSZ thin film are 18.7 J/cm2 and 19.4 J/cm2 respectively which is higher than that of ZrO2 thin film 12.2 J/cm2. The reason is that ZrO2 material is prone to lace phase transition and defects, during the course of evaporation while YSZ material is not. The defects would become absorptive centers and initia