Lithium ion battery and method for manufacturing of such battery

1. A method for fabricating a lithium battery comprising:

providing a substrate;

coating said substrate with a cathodic current collector;

mixing nanopowders of an active electrode material with lithium nitrate and potassium nitrate to yield a mixture;

depositing a cathode having said mixture, a solid electrolyte material, and an electronic conductor onto said cathodic current collector;

applying a heat treatment to the substrate after said deposition of said cathode; and

depositing an anodic current collector onto said cathode after said applying heat treatment.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising adding graphite powder to said mixture.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said solid electrolyte material is LiPON, said LiPON being deposited as a thin-film using radio-frequency physical vapor deposition from a lithium phosphate target in an ambient containing nitrogen gas.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

loading said substrate coated with said cathodic current collector into a vacuum load lock;

evacuating the vacuum load lock;

transferring said substrate to a first deposition chamber;

depositing said active electrode material in said first deposition chamber;

transferring said substrate with said deposited active electrode material to a second deposition chamber;

depositing said solid electrolyte material in said second deposition chamber;

transferring said substrate with said deposited solid electrolyte material to a third deposition chamber;

depositing said electronic conductor in said third deposition chamber;

transferring said substrate with said deposited electronic conductor to said the vacuum load lock; and

removing said substrate from the vacuum load lock.

5. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising densificating said cathode by simultaneously applying heat and pressure to said cathode.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein said densification occurs at a temperature higher than a softening point of said solid electrolyte material.

7. The method according to claim 5 , further comprising planarizing a surface of said cathode after densification.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising attaching an anode onto said anodic current collector.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein said anode further comprising placing lithium foil in contact with said anodic current collector.

10. The method according to claim 8 , wherein said anode further comprising pouring molten lithium onto said anodic current collector.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said anodic current collector is selected from the group consisting of a metal foil, a metal container, a metal film and a combination thereof.

12. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising hermetically sealing the lithium battery.

13. A method for fabricating a lithium battery comprising:

a) providing a substrate;

b) coating said substrate with a cathodic current collector using a thick-film technique;

c) coating said substrate with said cathodic current collector with a cathode using a thick-film technique;

d) placing said substrate with said cathodic current collector and said cathode into a vacuum processing system;

e) depositing a thin layer of cathode material onto said cathode in a first processing station of said vacuum processing system;

f) transferring under vacuum said substrate with said cathode material to a second processing station within said vacuum processing system;

g) depositing a thin film of a solid electrolyte material onto said cathode material in said second processing station of said vacuum processing system;

h) transferring under vacuum said substrate with said solid electrolyte material to a third processing station within said vacuum processing system;

i) depositing a thin layer of anode material onto said solid electrolyte material in said third processing station of said vacuum processing system;

j) removing said substrate with said anode material from said vacuum processing system;

k) depositing an anode onto said anode material using a thick-film technique; and

l) depositing an anodic current collector onto said anode.

14. The method according to claim 13 , whereby steps e), g) and/or i) are performed using one or more of the following techniques: sputtering, evaporation, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), pulsed laser deposition (PLD).

15. The method according to claim 13 , whereby steps b), c) and/or k) are performed using one or more of the following techniques: screen printing, offset printing, inkjet printing, tape casting, thermal spraying, plasma spraying.

16. The method according to claim 13 , whereby in step e) and/or i) and/or the thin film in step g) has a thickness of <10 micrometer.