Pulsed laser deposition of conducting porous La-Sr-Co-O films

Abstract La0.5Sr0.5CoO3−δ (LSCO) films for use in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) have been deposited on yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ)(100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Both epitaxial and porous-polycrystalline films were fabricated. The porous films were formed by deposition at room temperature followed by anneal at from 450–750°C to increase porosity. Resistivity measurements have shown that the porous LSCO films annealed at 550°C yielded the lowest resistivity of 10−2 Ω cm. The epitaxial LSCO films were deposited on YSZ(100) in the temperature range of 450 to 750°C, and showed (110) preferred orientation. The electrical resistivity of the epitaxial LSCO films is 10−3 Ω·cm for films deposited at 550°C.