Abstract
The effect of the $O_2$ concentration in the sputtering gas mixture, substate temperature and Ar pressure on the structural and optical properties of 3 mol% YSZ and 8 mol% YSZ thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering were investigated . The films were observed to have various crystal structures with different compositions in accordance with the type of the target materials. The size of fine grain-like particles decreased wiht increasing the $O_2$ concentration in the sputtering gas in the case of 3mol% YSZ, while it increased in the case of 8 mol% YSZ . However, the average opticla transmission of 8mol% YSZ, despite of thicker thickness. was higher than that of 3 mol% YSZ. Furthermore, the values of refractive index of 3mol% YSZ increased with increasing the $O_2$ concentration in the sputtering gas on the contrary to those of the 8 mol% YSZ. However, the transmission spectra of 8 mol% YSZ films were not strongly influenced by the substrate temperature and Ar pressure, whereas the refractive index of the YSZ films were strongly affected by the sputtering parameters.
