Thin Film Electrolyte Micro-SOFC: Fabrication and Performance Improvement Through Thin Film Electrolyte and Nano-Structure Electrodes

Performance improvement, especially in the lower operating temperature regime, by employing thin film and nano-structure electrodes for miniaturized SOFCs is investigated. Anode-supported cells with thin (<= 1 mu m) YSZ electrolytes were fabricated by using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Performance of the cell was characterized at temperatures lower than 600 degrees C. We obtained OCV > 1 V with less than 1 mu m-thick thin electrolytes, which implied that the thin electrolyte was fairly dense and gas tight. The thin film electrolyte cells exhibited much improved cell performance than that of the anode-supported SOFC cell with a thick (similar to 10 mu m) YSZ electrolyte in the low operating temperature regime (350-550 degrees C). The effects of the nano-structured electrodes and thin film electrolytes on the cell performance are investigated.