Device and method of manufacturing high aspect ratio structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10923724-B2
Application number	US-201615571740-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 3, 2016
Priority date	May 4, 2015
Publication date	Feb 16, 2021
Grant date	Feb 16, 2021

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a electronic device is provided having a current collector capable of a high specific charge collecting area and power, but is also achieved using a simple and fast technique and resulting in a robust design that may be flexed and can be manufactured in large scale processing. To this end the electronic device comprising an electronic circuit equipped with a current collector formed by a metal substrate having a face forming a high-aspect ratio structure of pillars having an interdistance larger than 600 nm. By forming the high-aspect structure in a metal substrate, new structures can be formed that are conformal to curvature of a macroform or that can be coiled or wound and have a robust design.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a 3D thin film current collector with a high-aspect ratio structure of pillars formed on a metal substrate, wherein the method comprises:
forming elongate and aligned carbon nanotube pillars on a face of a seed layer covering the metal substrate with a micro-pattern mask, the micro-pattern mask arranging the carbon nanotube pillars to have a minimum interdistance in a range between 600 nm and 10 μm;
sensitizing the carbon nanotube pillars with a seed metal;
electroless plating the sensitized carbon nanotube pillars to electrically bridge the carbon nanotube pillars across the seed layer to the metal substrate by a plated electroconductive material deposited by said electroless plating step, said plated electroconductive material electrically connecting said metal substrate to said sensitized carbon nanotube pillars to form a sensitized carbon nanotube structure of pillars;
covering the sensitized carbon nanotube structure of pillars with a conductive layer deposited by an electroplating step; and
conformally covering the conductive layer with subsequent layers of a coating that is a battery multilayer or a photovoltaic multilayer, wherein the subsequent layers comprise a solid state electrolyte layer.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the sensitizing step is carried out using a solution having a pH >3.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the conductive layer is porous.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising covering the subsequent layers of the coating on the conductive layer with a planarizing filler.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the metal substrate is stacked on an organic foil.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the steps of forming, sensitizing, electroless plating and covering are carried out in a roll-to-roll process.

Assignees

• Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast—Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek Tno
• TNO

Inventors

• Schoo Harmannus Franciscus Maria
• Unnikrishnan Sandeep
• Hermes Dorothee Christine
• Smits Edsger Constant Pieter
• Sabik Sami

Classifications

• H01G9/209 Primary

  Light trapping arrangements · CPC title

• H01M4/626 Primary

  Metals · CPC title

• H01M2300/0065

  Solid electrolytes · CPC title

• Y02E10/542

  Dye sensitized solar cells · CPC title

• Y02P70/50

  Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product · CPC title