Solid state thin-film lithium battery systems

Thin-film rechargeable lithium batteries, less than 15 μm thick, are being developed as micro-power sources. Batteries with long cycle lives have been constructed with a variety of electrode materials and cell configurations onto thin ceramic, metal, and Si substrates. Improvements in the properties of several well-known cathode thin-film materials have been reported, while several novel thin-film anode materials have been introduced in recent papers. All recent thin-film batteries with moderate discharge powers and cycle lives rely on the amorphous lithium phosphorus oxynitride electrolyte, known as Lipon, deposited by rf magnetron sputtering.