Thin alkali metal film member and method of producing the same
AssigneeSumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
InventorsHirokazu Kugai, Nobuhiro Ota, Shosaku Yamanaka
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Abstract
A member having a lithium metal thin film is provided, which is extremely thin, uniform, and not degraded by air. The member includes a substrate and a thin lithium metal film formed on the substrate by a vapor deposition method. The thin film typically has a thickness of 0.1 μm to 20 μm. The substrate is typically made of a metal, an alloy, a metal oxide, or carbon. The substrate typically has a thickness of 1 μm to 100 μm. The member is used as an electrode member for a lithium cell.
Claims19
A thin alkali metal film member, comprising:
- a substrate;
- and a thin alkali metal film formed directly on said substrate by vapor deposition of a material selected from the group consisting of alkali metals and alkali metal alloys, wherein said thin alkali metal film has a film thickness within the range of 0.1 μm to 20 μm, wherein an in-plane thickness variation range of said thin alkali metal film is within ±30% of said film thickness, and wherein said substrate is made of a material selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, aluminum, iron, niobium, titanium, tungsten, indium, molybdenum, magnesium, alloys composed of at least two metals from said group, stainless steel, and electrically conductive carbon.
A method of producing a thin alkali metal film member, comprising the following steps:
- (a) preparing a substrate of a material selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, aluminum, iron, niobium, titanium, tungsten, indium, molybdenum, magnesium, alloys composed of at least two metals from said group, stainless steel, and electrically conductive carbon,
- (b) vapor depositing directly on said substrate a thin alkali metal film made of a source material selected from the group consisting of alkali metals and alkali metal alloys, and
- (c) continuing said vapor depositing step until said thin alkali metal film has a film thickness within the range of 0.1 μm to 20 μm and an in-plane thickness variation range of ±30% of said film thickness.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.