Long life thin film battery and method therefor
AssigneeOak Ridge Micro-Energy, Inc.
InventorJohn B Bates
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Abstract
A method for improving the useful life of a thin film lithium-ion battery containing a solid electrolyte and an anode that expands on charging and long life batteries made by the method. The method includes providing a hermetic barrier package for the thin film battery that includes an anode expansion absorbing structure.
Claims19
A method for improving the useful life of a thin film lithium-ion battery containing a solid electrolyte and an anode that expands on charging, comprising providing a hermetic barrier package for the thin film battery that includes an anode expansion absorbing structure, wherein the hermetic barrier package comprises an epoxy adhesive bead surrounding the anode and an oxygen and water vapor resistant cover attached to the adhesive bead providing an anode expansion gap between the cover and the anode.
A thin film lithium-ion battery comprising, a cathode, a solid lithium-ion conducting electrolyte, an anode selected from the group consisting of silicon, tin, and silicon-tin alloys, and a hermetic seal for the thin film battery, wherein the hermetic seal comprises an epoxy adhesive bead surrounding the anode and an oxygen and water vapor resistant cover attached to the adhesive bead, and wherein the hermetic seal includes an anode expansion gap between the anode and the cover providing an anode expansion absorbing structure.
A method of making multiple long-life thin film battery cells on a single substrate, comprising the steps of:
- depositing battery layers including cathodes, electrolytes, and anodes through appropriate masks onto the substrate;
- constructing a hermetic seal for each of the cells, wherein the hermetic seal comprises an anode expansion absorbing structure;
- measuring an open circuit voltage and resistance of each of the cells using a wafer prober in conjunction with a programmable electrometer to identify rejected cells;
- ink marking the rejected cells;
- and
- dicing the substrate to provide a plurality of thin film batteries.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.