Systems and methods for the in-line measurement of alkali metal-containing structures and alkali ion-containing structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2023160821-A1
Application number	US-202217982911-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 8, 2022
Priority date	Nov 19, 2021
Publication date	May 25, 2023
Grant date	—

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to systems and methods for in-line measurement of alkali metal-containing structures or alkali ion-containing structures of, e.g., electrodes. In an embodiment, a system for processing an electrode is provided. The system includes a first processing chamber for forming an electrode comprising an alkali metal-containing structure. The system further includes a metrology station coupled to and in-line with the first processing chamber, the metrology station comprising: a source of radiation for delivering radiation to the alkali metal-containing structure, and an optical detector for receiving an emission of radiation emitted from the alkali metal-containing structure, and a processor configured to determine a characteristic of the alkali metal-containing structure of the electrode based on the emission of radiation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A system for processing an electrode comprising an alkali metal-containing structure, the system comprising:
a first processing chamber for forming an electrode comprising an alkali metal-containing structure; and a metrology station coupled to and in-line with the first processing chamber, the metrology station comprising:
a source of radiation for delivering radiation to the alkali metal-containing structure;
an optical detector for receiving an emission of radiation emitted from the alkali metal-containing structure; and
a processor configured to determine a characteristic of the alkali metal-containing structure of the electrode based on the emission of radiation.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the alkali metal-containing structure comprises Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, an ion thereof, or combinations thereof.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electrode is a pre-lithiated anode or a pre-sodiated anode.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine a first value of the characteristic; and compare the first value of the characteristic to a threshold value or range.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein, when the first value of the characteristic is equal to or above the threshold value or range, the processor is further configured to cause the electrode to transfer from the metrology station to a second processing chamber, the second processing chamber being the same as, or different from, the first processing chamber.

6 . The system of claim 4 , wherein, when the first value of the characteristic is equal to or above the threshold value or range, the processor is further configured to:
determine a second value of the characteristic; and compare the second value of the characteristic to the threshold value or range.

7 . The system of claim 4 , wherein, when the first value of the characteristic is less than the threshold value or range, the processor is further configured to cause the electrode to be packaged or integrated into a device.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the radiation delivered is infrared radiation, ultraviolet radiation, visible radiation, or combinations thereof.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical detector and the processor are at least a portion of a spectrometer.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the optical detector detects an emission spectral intensity of laser-ablated alkali metal; and the processor analyzes the emission spectral intensity of laser-ablated alkali metal.

11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the characteristic is a presence, a thickness, a depth profile, a concentration, or combinations thereof.

12 . A method for processing an electrode comprising an alkali metal-containing structure, the method comprising:
forming an electrode in a first processing chamber, the electrode comprising an alkali metal-containing structure, the alkali metal-containing structure comprising Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, an ion thereof, or combinations thereof; conveying the electrode to a metrology station in-line with the first processing chamber; and determining a characteristic of the alkali metal-containing structure of the electrode, the electrode disposed in the metrology station, wherein determining a characteristic comprises:
delivering radiation to the alkali metal-containing structure to produce an emission of radiation from the alkali metal-containing structure;
detecting the emission of radiation; and
analyzing the emission of radiation, the emission of radiation corresponding to a characteristic of the alkali metal-containing structure.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein analyzing the radiation emitted comprises:
determining a first value of the characteristic; comparing the first value of the characteristic to a threshold value or range; and changing a processing path of the electrode based on the first value.

14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein:
the electrode is a pre-lithiated anode or a pre-sodiated electrode; and the characteristic is a presence, a thickness, a depth profile, a concentration, or combinations thereof.

15 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising conveying the electrode to a second processing chamber for further processing when a first value of the characteristic is equal to or above a threshold value or range, the second processing chamber being the same as, or different from, the first processing chamber.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
conveying the electrode from the second processing chamber to the metrology station; determining a second value of the characteristic; and comparing the second value of the characteristic to a threshold value or range.

17 . The method of claim 12 , wherein:
the radiation delivered to the alkali metal-containing structure is infrared radiation, ultraviolet radiation, visible radiation, or combinations thereof; the detecting and analyzing is performed by a spectrometer; or combinations thereof.

18 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed on a processor, perform operations for processing a pre-lithiated anode, the operations comprising:
forming a pre-lithiated anode in a processing chamber, the pre-lithiated anode comprising a lithium-containing structure on an anode; conveying the pre-lithiated anode to a metrology station in-line with the processing chamber; and determining a characteristic of the lithium-containing structure of the pre-lithiated anode, the pre-lithiated anode disposed in the metrology station, wherein determining a characteristic comprises:
delivering radiation to the lithium-containing structure to produce an emission of radiation from the lithium-containing structure;
detecting the emission of radiation; and
determining a first value of the characteristic, the characteristic corresponding to the emission of radiation.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise:
comparing the first value of the characteristic to a threshold value or range; and changing a processing path of the pre-lithiated anode based on the first value.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein:
the characteristic is a presence, a thickness, a depth profile, a concentration, or combinations thereof; and the radiation delivered to the lithium-containing structure is infrared radiation, ultraviolet radiation, or visible radiation.

Assignees

• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Herle Subramanya P

Classifications

• G01N21/8422 Primary

  Investigating thin films, e.g. matrix isolation method · CPC title

• G01N2021/8438

  Mutilayers · CPC title

• G01N2021/8427

  Coatings · CPC title

• G01N2021/8416

  and process controlling, not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• Y02E60/10

  Energy storage using batteries · CPC title