SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MASKLESS THIN FILM BATTERY FABRICATION
A method for masklessly fabricating a thin film battery, including securing a substrate to a substrate carrier of a first deposition chamber with a first clamping ring having an aperture, performing a first deposition on the substrate to form a first TFB layer, the aperture of the first clamping ring defining a footprint of the first layer, wherein areas of the substrate covered by the first clamping ring are excluded from the first blanket deposition, securing the substrate to a substrate carrier of a second deposition chamber with a second clamping ring having an aperture, and performing a second deposition on the substrate to form a second TFB layer over the first layer, the aperture of the second clamping ring defining a footprint of the second layer, wherein areas of the substrate and the first layer covered by the second clamping ring are excluded from the second blanket deposition.
1 . A system for maskless thin film battery (TFB) fabrication, comprising:
a first deposition chamber adapted to deposit a first layer of the TFB on a substrate, the first deposition chamber having a first clamping ring adapted to secure the substrate to a first substrate carrier, the first clamping ring having an aperture with a size and shape defining a footprint of the first layer; and
a second deposition chamber adapted to deposit a second layer of the TFB over the first layer, the second deposition chamber having a second clamping ring adapted to secure the substrate to a second substrate carrier, the second clamping ring having an aperture with a size and shape defining a footprint of the second layer.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first deposition chamber and the second deposition chamber are the same deposition chamber.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first substrate carrier and the second substrate carrier are the same substrate carrier.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the aperture of the first clamping ring has a first size and the aperture of the second clamping ring has a second size, wherein the second size is larger than the first size.
5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein a position of the first clamping ring relative to the substrate is concentric with a position of the second clamping ring relative to the substrate.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the footprint defined by the aperture of the second clamping ring is adapted to entirely cover, and overlap edges of, the footprint defined by the aperture of the first clamping ring.
7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a third deposition chamber adapted to deposit a third layer of the TFB over the second layer, the third deposition chamber having a third clamping ring adapted to secure the substrate to a third substrate carrier, the third clamping ring having an aperture with a size and shape defining a footprint of the third layer.
8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the first deposition chamber is adapted to perform a blanket deposition of a positive electrode layer, the second deposition chamber is configured to perform a blanket deposition of a solid state electrolyte layer, and the third deposition chamber is configured to perform a blanket deposition of a negative electrode layer.
9 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the aperture of the first clamping ring has a first size, the aperture of the second clamping ring has a second size, and the aperture of the third clamping ring has a third size, wherein the second size is larger than the first size and the third size is smaller than the second size.
10 . A method for masklessly fabricating a thin film battery (TFB), comprising:
securing a substrate to a substrate carrier of a first deposition chamber with a first clamping ring having an aperture;
performing a first blanket deposition on the substrate to form a first layer of the TFB, wherein the aperture of the first clamping ring defines a footprint of the first layer, and wherein areas of the substrate covered by the first clamping ring are excluded from the first blanket deposition;
securing the substrate to a substrate carrier of a second deposition chamber with a second clamping ring having an aperture; and
performing a second blanket deposition on the substrate to form a second layer of the TFB over the first layer, wherein the aperture of the second clamping ring defines a footprint of the second layer, and wherein areas of the substrate and the first layer covered by the second clamping ring are excluded from the second blanket deposition.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the first deposition chamber and the second deposition chamber are different deposition chambers.
12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the first deposition chamber and the second deposition chamber are the same deposition chamber.
13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the substrate carrier of the first deposition chamber and the substrate carrier of the second deposition chamber are the same substrate carrier.
14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the aperture of the first clamping ring has a first size and the aperture of the second clamping ring has a second size, wherein the second size is larger than the first size.
15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein a position of the first clamping ring relative to the substrate is concentric with a position of the second clamping ring relative to the substrate.
16 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the second layer entirely covers, and overlaps edges of, the first layer.
17 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising securing the substrate to a substrate carrier of a third deposition chamber with a third clamping ring having an aperture; and
performing a third blanket deposition on the substrate to form a third layer of the TFB over the second layer, wherein the aperture of the third clamping ring defines a footprint of the third layer, and wherein areas of the substrate, the first layer, and the second layer covered by the third clamping ring are excluded from the third blanket deposition.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the first layer is a positive electrode layer, the second layer is a solid state electrolyte layer, and the third layer is a negative electrode layer.
19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the aperture of the first clamping ring has a first size, the aperture of the second clamping ring has a second size, and the aperture of the third clamping ring has a third size, wherein the second size is larger than the first size and the third size is smaller than the second size.
20 . A method for masklessly fabricating a thin film battery (TFB), comprising:
securing a substrate to a substrate carrier of a first deposition chamber with a first clamping ring having an aperture;
performing a first blanket deposition on the substrate to form a positive electrode layer of the TFB, wherein the aperture of the first clamping ring defines a footprint of the positive electrode layer, and wherein areas of the substrate covered by the first clamping ring are excluded from the first blanket deposition;
securing the substrate to a substrate carrier of a second deposition chamber with a second clamping ring having an aperture;
performing a second blanket deposition on the substrate to form a solid state electrolyte layer of the TFB over the positive electrode layer, wherein the aperture of the second clamping ring defines a footprint of the solid state electrolyte layer, and wherein areas of the substrate and the positive electrode layer covered by the second clamping ring are excluded from the second blanket deposition;
securing the substrate to a substrate carrier of a third deposition chamber with a third clamping ring having an aperture; and
performing a third blanket deposition on the substrate to form a negative electrode layer of the TFB over the solid state electrolyte layer, wherein the aperture of the third clamping ring defines a footprint of the negative electrode layer, and wherein areas of the substrate, positive electrode first layer, and the solid state electrolyte layer covered by the third clamping ring are excluded from the third blanket deposition.