Encapsulating in-situ energy storage device with cathode contact

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11322787-B2
Application number	US-201916687607-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 18, 2019
Priority date	Nov 18, 2019
Publication date	May 3, 2022
Grant date	May 3, 2022

Abstract

An energy storage device has all components, e.g. anode, electrolyte, and cathode contained and sealed with a trench in a substrate. Various methods and structures are disclosed for sealing the components. In some embodiments, a sealer or sealing layer seals the components. One embodiment uses a tension clamp to contain the components with additional pressure. Another embodiment uses a cathode structure cup which is held in place in the substrate via sidewall trench features. Different external connections to the device are disclosed. The invention enables full three-dimensional components to be created and contained entirely within the substrate during assembly, curing, galvanic cycling and other manufacturing processes and provides improved sealing of the components during device operation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A lithium energy storage device comprising:
a substrate with one or more trenches, each trench having a trench bottom and one or more trench sidewalls;
one or more electrically insulating liners disposed on the trench sidewalls but not on the trench bottom;
an anode disposed in the trench, the anode being in physical and electrical contact with the trench bottom;
an electrolyte disposed on the anode;
a cathode disposed on the electrolyte;
a sealer disposed on the cathode, the sealer sealing the trench, the sealer being electrically, conductive and in electrical contact with the cathode,

wherein the anode, the electrolyte, the cathode, and the sealer are disposed and entirely contained within the trench.

2. An energy storage device, as in claim 1 , further comprising an external contact electrically and physically connected to the sealer.

3. An energy storage device, as in claim 1 , further comprising:
an insulating layer partially disposed on the sealer, the insulating layer electrically, insulating part of the sealer;
a negative connection; and
a negative contact physically attached to the insulating layer and physically and electrically connected to the negative connection,

wherein the negative connection is electrically connected to the anode through the substrate.

4. An energy storage device, as in claim 1 , where the sealer is made of one or more of the following: a conductive epoxy, a conductive polymer, and silver (Ag) epoxy.

5. An energy storage device, as in claim 1 , further comprising a tension clamp, the tension clamp putting pressure on the sealer, the tension clamp having a tension clamp top plate, the tension clamp top plate being in electrical contact with the sealer.

6. An energy storage device, as in claim 5 , further comprising:
a positive contact electrically and physically connected to the tension clamp top plate;
a negative contact physically connected but not electrically connected to the tension clamp top plate; and
a negative connection electrically connecting the negative contact to the anode through the substrate.

7. An energy storage device, as in claim 5 , where the tension clamp comprises:
the tension clamp top plate;
a pressure plate attached to a side of the tension clamp, the top plate between the tension clamp top plate and the seal, the pressure plate being electrically conductive and the seal electrically connected to the tension clamp top plate through the pressure plate;
a first and second arm, an upper end of each of the first and second arm rotationally connected to a first and second side of the tension clamp top plate respectively;
a first catch rotationally connected to a lower end of the first arm and a second catch rotationally connected to a lower end of the second arm,

wherein the first and second catch hook on to the bottom of the substrate causing a force acting through the tension clamp top plate to push the pressure plate on the seal compressing the seal, cathode, electrolyte, and anode into the trench.

8. An energy storage device, as in claim 1 ; further comprising:
one or more notches in the trench sidewalls, the notches being above or approximately in the top plane of the electrolyte; and
a cathode structure cup having cathode containment side and an outside, the outside having one or more feet,

wherein the cathode is contained in the cathode containment side of the cathode structure cup and the feet engage into one or more of the notches so that the cathode structure cup and the cathode are within the trench and the cathode is in physical and electrical contact with the electrolyte.

9. An energy storage device, as in claim 8 , where the cathode structure cup comprises:
a top, the top being electrically conductive and the top having an inside top side facing the cathode containment side, and an outside top side facing the outside; and
one or more cathode structure cup sides connected to the top and surrounding the cathode containment side,

wherein the feet are connected to one or more of the cathode structure cup sides facing the outside.

10. An energy storage device, as in claim 1 , where the electrolyte comprises the following three layers:
a polymer electrolyte;
a solid polymer electrolyte (SPE); and
a polymer electrolyte.

11. An energy storage device, as in claim 10 , where the polymer electrolyte is one or more of the following: polycaprolactone (PCI) and succinonitrile (SN) and Lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI).

12. An energy storage device, as in claim 10 , where the solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) is one or more of the following: a polymer saturated separator material, a polymer saturated fabric-like inter-woven layer material, and polyacrylnitrile (PAN) saturated in polycaprolactone (PCl) and succinonitrile (SN) and Lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI).

13. A lithium energy storage device comprising:
a substrate with one or more trenches, each trench having a trench bottom and one or more trench sidewalls;
one or more electrically insulating liners disposed on the trench sidewalk but not on the trench bottom;
an anode disposed in the trench, the anode being in physical and electrical contact with the trench bottom;
an electrolyte disposed on the anode;
a cathode disposed on the electrolyte, the cathode further comprising:
a dielectric separator, disposed on the electrolyte;
a cathode electrode disposed on the dielectric separator; and
a conductive cap disposed on the cathode electrode;

a sealer disposed on the conductive cap and being in electrical and physical contact with the conductive cap, the sealer sealing the trench, the sealer being electrically conductive and in electrical contact with the cathode,

wherein the anode, the electrolyte, the cathode, and the sealer are disposed within the trench forming a three-dimensional battery structure and the anode, the electrolyte, and the cathode are contained in the trench by the trench sidewalls, the trench bottom, and the sealer.

14. An energy storage device, as in claim 13 , where the cathode electrode is made of one or more of the following: Lithium Manganese Oxyfluoride (LMOF), Li 2 MnO 2 F, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), LiFePO 4 , a solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) material, one or more conductive additives, and one or more binders.

15. An energy storage device, as in claim 13 , where the cathode electrode is made of compound with two lithium atoms per molecule.

16. An energy storage device, as in claim 13 , where the cathode electrode is made of between 55 percent and 85 percent by mass of LMOF, between 7.5 percent and 20 percent by mass of a solid polymer electrolyte (SPE), and between 5 percent and 15 percent by mass of a conductive additive.

17. An energy storage device, as in claim 16 , where the conductive additive is carbon black.

18. An energy storage device, as in claim 13 , where the dielectric separator is a material that prevents the flow of electrons but permits the flow of ionic current.

19. An energy storage device, as in claim 13 , where the dielectric separator is one of the following: a woven fabric-like polymer material, a polymer saturated separator material, a polymer saturated fabric-like inter-woven layer material, and polyacrylnitrile (PAN) saturated in polycaprolactone (PCl) and succinonitrile (SN) and Lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI).

20. An energy storage device, as in claim 13 , where the sealer is a conductive

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Collins John
• Papalia John M
• Sadana Devendra K
• Sagianis Matthew

Classifications

• H01M50/10 Primary

  Primary casings; Jackets or wrappings · CPC title

• H01M10/0565

  Polymeric materials, e.g. gel-type or solid-type · CPC title

• Y02E60/10

  Energy storage using batteries · CPC title

• H01M10/052 Primary

  Li-accumulators · CPC title

• H01M4/505

  of mixed oxides or hydroxides containing manganese for inserting or intercalating light metals, e.g. LiMn2O4 or LiMn2OxFy · CPC title