Characterization of thermal barrier coatings formed by electon-beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD)

Interest in ceramics as thermal barrier coatings for hot components of turbine engines has increased rapidly over the last decade. The primary reason for this is the significant reduction in heat load and increased chemical inertness against corrosive species with the ceramic coating materials. Among other candidates, partially-stabilized zirconia is the focus of attention mainly because ot its low thermal conductivity and high thermal expansion coefficient.The coatings were made by Garrett Turbine Engine Company. Ni-base super-alloy was used as the substrate and later a bond-coating with high Al activity was formed over it. The ceramic coatings, with a thickness of about 50 μm, were formed by EB-PVD in a high-vacuum chamber by heating the target material (ZrO2-20 w/0 Y2O3) above its evaporation temperaturef >3500 °C) with a high-energy beam and condensing the resulting vapor onto a rotating heated substrate. A heat treatment in an oxidizing environment was performed later on to form a protective oxide layer to improve the adhesion between the ceramic coating and substrate. Bulk samples were studied by utilizing a Scintag diffractometer and a JEOL JXA-840 SEM; examinations of cross-sectional thin-films of the interface region were performed in a Philips CM 30 TEM operating at 300 kV and for chemical analysis a KEVEX X-ray spectrometer (EDS) was used.