Thin film battery synthesis by directed vapor deposition

A method for forming electrolyte and cathode layers of a thin film battery on a substrate using directed vapor deposition, the method comprising sequentially forming each layer by:

• evaporating in a deposition chamber at least one source material for deposition on said substrate, the evaporation of said material generating a plurality of vapor molecules;
• inserting as a carrier gas an inert gas with at least one doping agent into the deposition chamber;
• aligning the vapor molecules using characteristics of the carrier gas such that the vapor molecules are directed for deposition on at least portions of the substrate by a stream of said carrier gas, wherein the deposition occurs at a rate of at least 1 nm/min, wherein the inert gas flow directs evaporated cathode source material directly to said substrate, thereby providing faster deposition than sputtering of source material without directed inert gas flow;
• wherein the at least one source material is selected from the group consisting of group IA metals, group IIA metals, group IIIB metals, group IVB metals, group VB metals, group VIB metals, group VIIB metals, group VIII metals, group IB metals, group IIB metals, mixtures thereof, compounds thereof, and alloys thereof;
• wherein the gas stream has an upstream pressure (Pu) and a downstream pressure (Pd), and wherein Pu is at least twice Pd;
• and
• only for the electrolyte layer, passing said gas stream through a plasma.