At this point in history, curvature is inherent to the laminated components that comprise solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Surprisingly, however, this fact has never been previously quantified in the literature. In addition, potential curvature changes associated with NiO reduction and re-oxidation during operation have not been investigated. In this report, an optical profilometer was employed to non-destructively quantify the surface curvature or cracking behavior observed on a large scale in industrially manufactured cells. This provides insights into the challenges that the component materials face as well as additional appreciation for why, in spite of a concerted effort to commercialize SOFC power generation, all currently manufactured SOFC stacks fail. Our results demonstrate that cracked electrolyte areas (caused by differential sintering) are flatter than uncracked regions. The height of the electrolyte surface ranged from 86 to 289 [m above the baseline following sintering. Reduction typically results in increases in curvature of up to 214 mum. Initial crack density appears to affect curvature evolution during reduction; the higher the crack density, the smaller the curvature increase following reduction at 600degreesC. In general, however, we observed that the electrolyte layer is remarkably resistant to further cracking during these typographic changes. Following oxidation at 750degreesC, large changes in curvature (up to 280 mum) are noted that appear to be related to the strength of the bond between the electrolyte and the underlying anode. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.