Rechargeable battery structure with metal substrate

Details Rechargeable battery structure with metal substrate Rechargeable battery structure with metal substrate

1999-03-24

2001-08-28

Brouillette, Gabrielle (Department: 1745)

Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus, product, and

Current producing cell, elements, subcombinations and...

Flat-type unit cell and specific unit cell components

C429S127000, C429S124000, C429S247000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06280875

ABSTRACT:

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed, generally, to a battery assembly, and more particularly, to a thin-film rechargeable battery and its method of manufacture.
2. Description of the Invention Background
A typical thin-film rechargeable battery incorporates a cathode current collector, a cathode, an anode current collector, an electrolyte, and an anode, in series, as layered components deposited over a substrate. The arrangement of the layered components and the materials that comprise each individual layer play an important role in determining the specific capacity, the utility, and performance of the battery cell.
The substrate may be selected from various materials, but is typically a glass, polymer, or ceramic. The choice of the substrate depends upon, among other factors, the processing conditions during manufacturing, such as, for example, temperature and reactive environment. For example, where the battery requires a low-power application suitable for amorphous cathodes, the substrate may be selected from a wide range of inexpensive materials including glass and polymers. On the other hand, ceramic substrates are typically used for high-power applications because high temperature annealing under oxidizing environments is required in order to obtain crystalline cathodes.
FIGS.
1
and
2
A-
2
F illustrate a typical prior art thin-film rechargeable battery
10
and its method of manufacture. The layered components that form the battery
10
are deposited over a ceramic substrate
2
and include, in series, a cathode current collector
4
, cathode layer
6
, an anode current collector
8
, an electrolyte layer
12
, an anode layer
14
, and a protective coating
16
. For high-power applications, the manufacturing process includes an annealing step that follows the deposition of the cathode layer
6
. Annealing the deposited cathode layer is necessary because, at ambient temperature, the cathode layer is typically amorphous and lacks the crystallinity and the conductance necessary for high-current requirements. It is the high temperature and other extreme processing conditions associated with the annealing step that typically limits the choice of substrate materials to ceramic, rather than glass or polymers, for high-power battery applications.
Although prior art battery designs are adequate for use with thin-film rechargeable batteries, several deficiencies exist in the prior art that limit their effectiveness. For example, formation of the layered components over the substrate is relatively time consuming as each of the six formed layers requires a separate manufacturing step. In addition, the arrangement of the layered components, in some cases, provides ineffective insulation between the active layers and inefficient battery utility and performance due to reactivity between the individual layers. Furthermore, for high-power applications, the fabrication method is, most often, limited to a “wafer-by-wafer” process because of the brittleness of the ceramic substrate. Because the thin ceramic materials are very fragile, there exists a lower limit in substrate thickness that must be employed to ensure sufficient durability. As a result, an intrinsic area-to-volume ratio limitation is created, which, in turn, results in specific capacity and energy limitations. Ceramic substrates are, also, relatively expensive and, therefore, comprise a significant portion of the overall manufacturing cost.
Accordingly, the need exists for an improved thin-film rechargeable battery and method of manufacture that, for example, may provide one or more of greater area-to-volume ratio for increased specific capacity and energy output, greater substrate strength for greater manufacturability, and increased manufacturing efficiency with diminished manufacturing cost.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the above-mentioned needs by providing variations of a thin-film rechargeable battery having a substrate which supports a new arrangement of layered components including, in series, a first electrode layer, and an electrolyte layer.
In one form, the battery of the present invention includes a metallic substrate to support layered components including, in series, a metal oxide layer, a first electrode current collector, a first electrode, an electrolyte layer, a second electrode current collector, and a second electrode layer. In this embodiment, the layered components are arranged to include a metal oxide layer overlaying at least a portion of the metallic substrate, a first electrode current collector overlaying at least a portion of the metal oxide layer, a first electrode layer overlaying at least a portion of the first electrode current collector, an electrolyte layer overlaying a portion of at least one of the metal oxide layer and the first electrode layer, a second electrode current collector overlaying at least a portion of the electrolyte layer, and a second electrode layer overlaying at least a portion of at least one of the electrolyte layer and the electrode current collector.
In another form, the battery of the present invention includes a metallic substrate that supports a first electrode layer overlaying at least a portion of the metallic substrate. An electrolyte layer overlays at least a portion of at least one of the metal substrate and the first electrode layer, an electrode current collector overlays the electrolyte layer, and a second electrode layer overlays at least one of the electrolyte layer and the electrode current collector.
The present invention also provides methods of forming layers of a thin-film rechargeable battery over a substrate and that includes forming, in series, a first electrode layer, an electrolyte layer, an electrode current collector, and second electrode layer. One such method includes forming a first electrode layer, forming an electrolyte layer over at least a portion of the first electrode layer, forming a first electrode current collector over at least a portion of the electrolyte layer, and forming a second electrode layer over at is least a portion of at least one of the electrolyte layer and the electrode current collector. For applications using a metallic substrate, one method provides that an electrode current collector is formed over the substrate as an underlying layer to the first electrode layer and in contact therewith. In another method, a metal oxide layer is formed as an underlying layer to the electrode current collector. Another method provides that an electrode current collector is formed over the substrate as an underlying layer to the first electrode layer and in contact therewith.
By using the layered component arrangement as herein described, the manufacturability, manufacturing efficiency, and utility of thin-film rechargeable batteries is significantly improved.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5512147 (1996-04-01), Bates et al.
patent: 5569520 (1996-10-01), Bates
patent: 5705293 (1998-01-01), Hobson

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