Zinc-air microbattery with electrode array of zinc microposts

We report the first successful development of a high performance MEMS-fabricated zinc-air microbattery. The key feature of this battery is the 3-dimensional architecture of the zinc electrode, which consists of an array of high aspect ratio microposts. This design efficiently increases the surface area of the zinc electrode and improves the performance of the battery at high discharge rates. The superior performance over commercially available batteries is demonstrated through high discharge rate tests as well as powering a real device. A surface-mounted LED was integrated into the microbattery package as the device, and the illumination of the LED was monitored during the discharge.