What should a thin-film battery look like?

They also should have a relatively smooth surface. Each component of the thin-film batteries, current collector, cathode, anode, and electrolyte is deposited from the vapor phase. A final protective film is needed to prevent the Li-metal from reacting with air when the batteries are exposed to the environment.

What is an example of a thin film battery?

Examples include thin film batteries deposited onto the back of a ceramic integrated circuit chip carrier and thin film batteries deposited on a substrate shared with thin film solar cells.

How to evaluate the performance of a thin film battery?

The performance of a thin film battery is evaluated in (i) open circuit voltage, (ii) maximum current, (iii) capacity, (iv) cyclability, etc. The open circuit voltage is almost determined by the combination of cathode and anode materials as in the case of conventional lithium batteries.

Can thin film batteries be made at low temperature?

Several efforts have lead to low temperature fabrication of thin film batteries on polyimide substrates, but the battery capacity and rate are lower than those treated at high temperatures.6,7 For the battery anode, many designs use a vapor-deposited metallic lithium film as both the anode and current collector.

How do thin-film batteries work?

The mechanism of the thin-film batteries is that ions migrate from the cathode to the anode charging and storing absorbed energy and migrating back to the cathode from the anode during discharge and thereby releasing energy .

Why is a thin-film battery significant?

For the power supply of portable devices, the battery will remain indispensable in the future. The thin-film battery forms a versatile alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries in the context of technological miniaturization and the simultaneous search for more environmentally friendly solutions.