Development of micro dispense and jetting process of battery electrodes for the fabrication of substrate integrated micro batteries

A cost effective and reliable technology for the fabrication of micro batteries, based on batch-fabricated glass micro packages was developed and tested. Jet dispensing of conventional lithium-ion electrode material (anode, cathode, separator and carbon current collector) was investigated for the first time as a process for fabricating battery electrode arrays and separators and compared to micro dispense printing. Design of experiments was used to optimize the process parameters. The process shows a good reproducibility over the whole range of investigated materials and battery cell structures required for batteries of a size in the range of several millimetres edge length. Commercial graphite anode materials as well as layered nickel cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries were investigated for the fabrication of dispensable/jettable electrodes. The influence of the process parameters on the electrode lateral dimensions, thickness and reproducibility of the electr ode mass are presented in detail.