What Happens during Thermal Post-Treatment of Powder Aerosol Deposited Functional Ceramic Films? Explanations Based on an Experiment-Enhanced Literature Survey.

Powder aerosol deposition (PAD) is a unique ceramic spray coating method that produces dense and well-adhering thick-films directly at room temperature, without requiring any heating or sintering. After the successful film formation, mechanical film properties like hardness or plasma resistance are remarkably good. However, when it comes to electrical properties like permittivity or electrical conductivity, the nanocrystalline structure of PAD films combined with high internal strains deteriorates partly the characteristic properties. The electrical conductivity may already be present within the as-deposited films. However, it is mostly lowered by several orders of magnitude. Therefore, a thermal post-deposition annealing is oftentimes required. In this work, electrically conducting films produced by powder aerosol deposition are surveyed based on published data. Their microstructural and electrical behavior during the post-deposition annealing treatment is summarized and reasons for the lowered electrical conductivity are identified. Additionally, the processes taking place during annealing, which eventually allow to regain bulk-like functional properties, are examined. A universal annealing behavior is found that leads to a quantitative recommendation for the suitable film annealing temperatures to regain the electrical conductivities.