Patent ID: 8257559

Claim:
A method of protecting a turbine engine component from heat and environmental contaminants, comprising the steps of: depositing a thermal barrier coating inner layer, comprising a stabilized ceramic material having a columnar microstructure with inter-columnar gap porosity, onto at least a predetermined region of a component surface by intermittently positioning the predetermined component surface region within the line-of-sight of an electron beam physical vapor deposition vapor source; and depositing a substantially non-porous thermal barrier coating outer layer, comprising the stabilized ceramic material and a dopant oxide that is more readily reducible than the stabilized ceramic material, onto at least a predetermined region of the inner layer by continuously positioning the predetermined inner layer region within the line-of-sight of the electron beam-physical vapor deposition vapor source, the outer layer being substantially free of interconnected porosity and having a higher density and a deficient oxygen stoichiometry with respect to the inner layer.