MANUFACTURE OF ADVANCED SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS BY JET VAPORDEPOSITION

SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS ARE EFFICIENT FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY CONVERSION DEVICES FOR ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION FOR BOTH STATIONARY AND AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS. THIS PROJECT USES AJET VAPOR DEPOSITION (JVD) TECHNIQUE TO DEPOSIT THE COMPONENT LAYERS OF THESE CELLS IN THIN FILM FORM. THESE COMPONENTS INCLUDE A SOLID ELECTROLYTE LAYER AS WELL AS POROUS ELECTRODE LAYERS. JVD HAS A PROVEN CAPABILITY TO DEPOSIT HIGH QUALITY, DEFECT-FREE CERAMIC, METALLIC, AND POLYMER THIN FILMS. THE INEXPENSIVE JVD TECHNIQUE MAKES USEOF SUPERSONIC GAS JETS OPERATING IN SIMPLE, LOW VACUUM, MECHANICALLY PUMPED FLOW SYSTEMS TO DIRECT A COLLIMATED STREAM OF VAPOR AT A SURFACE. IT IS A RAPID, VERSATILE, AND GENERAL TECHNIQUE THAT HAS BEEN USED FOR DEPOSITION OF SINGLE AND MULTICOMPONENT FILMS OF METALS, SEMICONDUCTORS, OXIDES, NITRIDES, AND ORGANICS. BY MECHANICALLY SCANNING ONE OR MORE JETS OVER A RAPIDLY MOVING SUBSTRATE, FILMS EXHIBITING UNIFORM PROPERTIES OVER HUNDREDS OF SQUARE CENTIMETERS HAVE BEEN DEPOSITED. THESE CAPABILITIES ARE VERY USEFUL FOR DEPOSITION OF MULTILAYER THIN FILM FUEL CELLSTRUCTURES COMPOSED OF SEVERAL KINDS OF MATERIALS. IN PHASEI OF THIS PROJECT, A SERIES OF SOLID, THIN FILM ELECTROLYTES AND ELECTRODES FOR FUEL CELLS IS BEING DEPOSITED AND THEIR ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCE TOGETHER IS BEING EVALUATED. REDUCTION IN SOLID ELECTROLYTE THICKNESS BY MEANS OF THIS DEPOSITION TECHNIQUE IS EXPECTED TO RESULT IN IMPROVED CELL EFFICIENCY AND PERFORMANCE.