Complex impedance and admittance of stabilised zirconia

Abstract

Impedance and admittance of single crystal yttria stabilised zirconia have been studied by the complex plane analysis technique. Both 2-probe and 4-probe measurements have been carried out between 500-900° C and a frequency range of d.c. to 100 KHz. The 4-probe behaviour of the single crystal was found to be independent of the frequency. Activation energy for bulk ionic conduction was about 1 eV for both impedance and admittance measurements. The peak frequencies of the 2-probe semicircular arcs shift to a higher value with an increase in the temperature. 2-probe measurements on a YDZ polycrystalline sample exhibit two semicircular arcs, one of which is due to the grain boundary effect.