Spin Coating Technique for Thick Film Coatings

 Spin coating technique is used for depositing uniform thick film (electrode) onto substrate (electrolyte).

1.The process begins by preparing the “vehicle”, which consists of a mixture of 95% terpineol oil and 5% ethyl cellulose.

2.For the electrode ink, use 0.2 ml of the prepared “vehicle” vigorously mixed with 140 mg of electrode powder (perovskite oxide) in an agate mortar until a dense ink is obtained.

3.Next, a sintered electrolyte pellet is placed onto the spin coater, and a small amount of the ink with the help of spatula is applied statically to one side of the pellet.

4.The spin coater is then operated at a speed of 6000 RPM for 30 seconds to evenly spread the ink across the surface.

5.After spinning, the coated pellet is dried in an oven at 105 °C for 20 minutes.

6.This process is repeated three times, resulting in three layers of electrode ink being applied to one side of the electrolyte pellet.

7.Finally, the coated pellet undergoes sintering at 950°C for 2 hours.

Three rounds of spin coating result in a 60 µm thick electrode.

It is important to note that the sintering temperature and duration, the spin coater's speed and time, and the quantities of electrode powder and vehicle can be optimized based on the specific materials used. This optimization ensures the best possible performance and quality of the thick film.