In-situ deposition of battery active lithium materials by thermal spraying
View Patent ↗A method and apparatus for forming an electrochemical layer of a thin film battery is provided. A precursor mixture comprising electrochemically active precursor particles dispersed in a carrying medium is provided to a processing chamber and thermally treated using a combustible gas mixture also provided to the chamber. The precursor is converted to nanocrystals by the thermal energy, and the nanocrystals are deposited on a substrate. A second precursor may be blended with the nanocrystals as they deposit on the surface to enhance adhesion and conductivity.
1. A method of forming a layer on a substrate, comprising:
providing a slurry of an electrochemical deposition material to a processing chamber;
providing a combustible gas comprising carbon to the processing chamber;
forming nanocrystals of the electrochemical deposition material;
depositing the nanocrystals on a substrate; and
flowing the nanocrystals out of the processing chamber toward the substrate in a stream, and adding a binder to the stream.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrochemical deposition material comprises lithium and at least one of nickel, manganese, and cobalt.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the slurry of the electrochemical deposition material comprises a carbon containing liquid.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the nanocrystals of the electrochemical deposition material comprises forming a carbon containing coating on the nanocrystals.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising controlling thermal energy input into the electrochemical deposition material by adjusting the amount of carbon in the combustible gas.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrochemical deposition material comprises lithium, nickel, manganese, cobalt, and oxygen, and the binder is a polymer added to the stream of nanocrystals as a water emulsion.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the nanocrystals are coated with a carbon containing coating and the binder is added by mixing the water emulsion into the stream of nanocrystals at a location that vaporizes the water.
8. A method of forming an electrochemical layer on a substrate, comprising:
forming a slurry comprising an electrochemical precursor, the electrochemical precursor comprising lithium;
atomizing the precursor mixture in an inert gas;
flowing the atomized precursor and a combustible gas mixture comprising carbon into a processing chamber;
reacting the combustible gas mixture to form nanocrystals of the electrochemical precursor coated with a carbon containing coating;
flowing the nanocrystals in a stream out of the processing chamber toward the substrate;
adding a polymer binder to the stream to form a deposition mixture; and
depositing the deposition mixture on the substrate.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the electrochemical precursor further comprises nickel, manganese, and cobalt.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the slurry further comprises water and a carbon-containing liquid.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the electrochemical precursor further comprises nickel, manganese, and cobalt.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein adding the polymer binder comprises mixing a water emulsion of the polymer binder with the nanocrystals stream at a location that vaporizes the water.
13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising controlling thermal energy input into the electrochemical precursor by adjusting the amount of carbon in the combustible gas mixture.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein forming the nanocrystals comprises vaporizing the water and combusting the carbon-containing liquid.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising controlling thermal energy input into the electrochemical precursor by adjusting a total amount of carbon added to the processing chamber in the combustible gas mixture and the slurry.