Transformation of Electron-Beam Physical Vapor-Deposited 8 wt% Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Thermal Barrier Coatings

Yttria-stabilized (8.6 mol% YO_1.5) zirconia thermal barrier coatings evolve at high temperatures from the "non-transformable," metastable tetragonal-prime phase in their as-deposited condition to a mixture of the tetragonal and cubic phases. The kinetics of the transformation at 1200° and 1425°C are reported based on X-ray diffraction measurements. Complementary Raman spectroscopy measurements indicate a sharpening of the tetragonal bands at 263 and 465 cm⁻¹ that is attributed to a systematic decrease in disorder of the Y³⁺ and oxygen vacancies with annealing. No transformation to the monoclinic form of zirconia is observed immediately after high-temperature treatment. However, partial transformation to monoclinic occurs after a prolonged time (months) at room temperature in those samples treated at 1425°C, indicating the development of isothermal martensite.