Structural properties of stabilized zirconium dioxide

The structure of the short-range order in the defect subsystem of zirconium dioxide solid electrolytes stabilized in the cubic fluorite phase with yttrium and calcium additions is simulated by the Monte-Carlo method. Interaction between defects is described by the potential of the Coulomb type taking into account their effective valences, dielectric constant and the degree of the system ionic character. The simulation results show that there is a distinct tendency to detect clustering in the calclum stabilized systems differing from yttrium stabilized ones. Effect of structural features of the short-range order in such systems on their electric conductivity and aging process is discused