This paper describes a new method to improve the surface conductivity of ZrO2 ceramics. The experimental results show that
ion implantation is an important technology. Various doses of the
implanted ions cause various electrical property changes. At high doses, the surface resistivity of ZrO2 is reduced by more than ten orders of magnitude, so the electrical properties of specimens are improved considerably. The chemical bonding states of the implanted elements and the crystalline phase in the surface layer are discussed respectively by means of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). XPS measurements show that the implanted ions exist in the surface film of ZrO2 in three kinds of chemical bonding states, i.e. Fe2+ , Fe3+ and Fe0(metallic). X-ray Diffraction shows that besides the main phase ZrO2, there is a small amount of the new phase of FeZrO2 formed in the implanted layer. The conductivity mechanism of the implanted specimen has been discussed finally depending on the energy deposition theory.