Laser drilling of metal foils for assembly in an electrolytic capacitor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12033807-B2
Application number	US-202117511514-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 26, 2021
Priority date	May 12, 2016
Publication date	Jul 9, 2024
Grant date	Jul 9, 2024

Abstract

A capacitor and methods of processing an anode metal foil are presented. The capacitor includes a housing, one or more anodes disposed within the housing, one or more cathodes disposed within the housing, one or more separators disposed between an adjacent anode and cathode, and an electrolyte disposed around the one or more anodes, one or more cathodes, and one or more separators within the housing. The one or more anodes each include a metal foil that includes a first plurality of tunnels through a thickness of the metal foil in a first ordered arrangement, the first ordered arrangement being a close packed hexagonal array arrangement, and having a first diameter, and a second plurality of tunnels through the thickness of the metal foil having a second ordered arrangement and a second diameter greater than the first diameter.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of fabricating an electrolytic capacitor, comprising:
forming first tunnels through a foil so as to define a first tunnel region in the foil,
the first tunnel region having the first tunnels in a first ordered close packed hexagonal array arrangement and the first tunnels each have a first diameter, and

forming second tunnels through the foil with the second tunnels being in a second ordered arrangement,
each of the second tunnels having a second diameter greater than the first diameter, and
the second tunnels being distributed in the first tunnel region such that different portions of the first tunnel region surround each of the second tunnels; and

disposing one or more anodes, one or more cathodes, and one or more separators in a housing with the one or more separators being disposed between an adjacent anode and cathode, at least one of the one or more anodes including the foil.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the foil is an aluminum foil.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first diameter is between 1 micron and 3 microns and the second diameter is between 5 microns and 10 microns.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the foil is a tantalum foil.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first diameter is between 1 micron and 5 microns, and the second diameter is between 5 microns and 10 microns.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second ordered arrangement is a close packed hexagonal array arrangement.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more anodes, one or more cathodes, and one or more separators are arranged in a stacked formation.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second tunnels include neighboring tunnels, the neighboring tunnels are adjacent to each other on the foil and have a portion of the first tunnels located between the neighboring tunnels.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first tunnel region is continuous between the second tunnels.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the second tunnels is defined by the first tunnel region.

11. A method of forming an electrolytic capacitor, comprising:
forming first tunnels through a foil so as to define a first tunnel region in the foil,
the first tunnel region having the first tunnels in a first ordered close packed hexagonal array arrangement and the first tunnels each have a first diameter, and

forming second tunnels through the foil with the second tunnels being in a second ordered arrangement,
each of the second tunnels having a second diameter greater than the first diameter, and
the second tunnels including neighboring tunnels, the neighboring tunnels being second tunnels that are adjacent to each other on the foil and have a portion of the first tunnels located between the neighboring tunnels; and

disposing one or more anodes, one or more cathodes, and one or more separators in a housing with the one or more separators being disposed between an adjacent anode and cathode, at least one of the one or more anodes including the foil.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the foil is an aluminum foil.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first diameter is between 1 micron and 3 microns, and the second diameter is between 5 microns and 10 microns.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the foil is a tantalum foil.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first diameter is between 1 micron and 5 microns and the second diameter is between 5 microns and 10 microns.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the second tunnels are arranged in a close packed hexagonal array arrangement.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the one or more anodes, one or more cathodes, and one or more separators are arranged in a stacked formation.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first tunnel region is continuous between the second tunnels.

19. The method of claim 11 , wherein the second tunnels are each defined by the first tunnel region.

Assignees

• Pacesetter Inc

Inventors

• Hemphill Ralph Jason
• Bowen David R
• Erickson Kurt J
• Fernstrom Peter

Classifications

• H01G11/30

  characterised by their material · CPC title

• H01G11/86

  specially adapted for electrodes (carbonisation or activation of carbon for the manufacture of electrodes H01G11/34) · CPC title

• H01G9/022

  Electrolytes; Absorbents · CPC title

• H01G9/055

  Etched foil electrodes · CPC title

• B23K2101/38

  Conductors · CPC title