Category Archives: Thin Film Batteries

Rechargeable batteries are essential for powering our personal electronic devices. To meet the novel functions of next-generation electronics, including foldable displays, flexible power sources are needed. However, conventional batteries are rigid and unable to adapt to the demands of flexible devices. Low-cost, rechargeable batteries containing naturally abundant elements, such as zinc, are appealing, but flexible batteries based on zinc require a different preparation method from conventional batteries.

In their article in Advanced Energy Materials, Xu Chen, Bin Liu, Cheng Zhong, and co-workers have developed a high-performance, flexible air electrode for the Zn–air battery by devising a simple fabrication technique.

The technique involves electrodeposition with fast heat treatment to grow ultrathin mesoporous Co3O4 layers on the surface of carbon fibers on a carbon cloth. These ultrathin Co3O4 layers have a maximum contact area on the conductive support, facilitating rapid electron transport and preventing the aggregation of the layers.

Benefiting from the high utilization degree of active materials and rapid charge transport, the mass activity for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions of the ultrathin electrode is more than 10 times higher than that of the carbon cloth loaded with commercial Co3O4 nanoparticles. The as-assembled flexible Zn–air battery based on the ultrathin electrode exhibits excellent rechargeability (≈1.03 V discharge voltage and ≈1.95 V charge voltage at 2 mA cm–2), with a high charge density of 546 Wh kg–1. It also has a high cycling stability, where no obvious loss occurred after 10 hours of galvanostatic discharge–charge testing or after 300 mechanical bending cycles.

The authors also integrated a flexible display into the device. Despite repeated bending and twisting, the device maintains its mechanical integrity and discharge performance. When the device is cut by scissors, there is no perceptible change in the display brightness, signaling safe and reliable operation if the device is damaged.

To find out more about this flexible battery, please visit the Advanced Energy Materials homepage.

A UC Riverside-led research project is among the 32 named today by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz as an Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs), designed to accelerate the scientific breakthroughs needed to build a new 21st-century energy economy in the United States. “Spins and Heat in Nanoscale Electronic Systems” (SHINES) will receive $12 million over four years from the Department of Energy. The lead researcher is UC Riverside Professor of Physics Jing Shi, who will work with researchers from seven universities.

SHINES is one of 10 new projects announced today, along with 22 other projects receiving new funding based on achievements to date. The Department of Energy announced a total of $100 million in funding to support fundamental advances in energy production, storage, and use.

“Today we are mobilizing some of our most talented scientists to join forces and pursue the discoveries and breakthroughs that will lay the foundation for our nation’s energy future,” Secretary Moniz said. “The funding we’re announcing today will help fuel innovation.”

He said the intent of the Energy Frontier Research Centers is to make fundamental advances in solar energy, electrical energy storage, carbon capture and sequestration, materials and chemistry by design, biosciences, and extreme environments.

“I am happy to hear the news,” said Shi, the UCR physics professor who has put together an interdisciplinary team of  researchers from UC Riverside, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, Arizona State University, University of Texas, Austin and Colorado  State University, Fort Collins.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the scientific advances that they come up with,” said Michael Pazzani, UC Riverside’s Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development. “This is exactly the kind of scientific leadership that UC Riverside has been encouraging and supporting This project will lay the groundwork for energy technology for the nation.”

SHINES will investigate several aspects of basic research: new ultrathin films, nanostructured composites, high resolution imaging, the transport of electrical signals, heat and light. “All of it will be studied, modeled and simulated in order to help the nation’s ability to advance in the way we use energy,” said Shi, the lead researcher.

One way to make Li-ion batteries more durable, safer, smaller and in particularly faster, is a transition towards all solid-state 3D thin-film Li-ion batteries.

By PHILIPPE VEREECKEN, principal scientist, imec, associate professor, KU Leuven

Applications like portable electronics, body area networks, wireless sensing networks and medical implants put severe pressure on energy storage technology development. As these devices become smarter and smaller at the same time, the demand for more powerful batteries with ever smaller volumes, larger storage capacity and higher lifetime grows. Of all known rechargeable systems, lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries provide the highest battery capacity and are therefore most popular for powering these devices. With a market share of more than 75%, they are currently the work horse of the rechargeable battery industry for portable applications. Besides portable electronics, Li-ion batteries are growing in popularity for large-scale storage solutions, like electric vehicle applications and temporary or local storage in future smart grids. Still, several material, structural and architectural innovations are needed to tune these batteries to the needs of future applications.

From liquid electrolytes to planar all solid- state batteries


Li-ion batteries belong to a class of rechargeable batteries, which means that the chemical conversion of the electrode material is reversible when an opposite cell voltage or current is applied. In a Li-ion battery, lithium ions move from the negative electrode during discharge and back when charging.

This reversible operation is enabled by using insertion electrodes, from which Li+ ions can be inserted or extracted. The most common positive electrode materials are currently lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), and lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NMC). In the near future also lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium magnesium oxide (LMO) and lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) will be used more and more. As negative electrodes, specialty graphite or Li4Ti5O12 are commonly used. For next generation batteries these might be complemented by silicon and silicon tin composites to increase the battery capacity.

The power characteristics of a battery cell strongly depend on the ionic conductance of the electrolyte which separates the electrodes. Current Li-ion battery technology makes use of liquid electrolyte solutions, consisting of lithium salts (such as LiPF6, LiBF4 or LiClO4) in an organic solvent (alkyl carbonates). They do have a very high conductivity of about 5-10S/cm at room temperature. In these battery types, however, the solid-electrolyte interface – which is formed as a result of the decom- position of the electrolyte at the negative electrode – limits the effective conductance (1-0.001S/cm2). Moreover, liquid electrolytes need expensive membranes to separate cathode and anode, and an impermeable casing to avoid leakage. This puts restrictions on the size and design of the batteries. And, since flammable and corrosive liquids are used, they suffer from safety and health issues.

Imec is looking towards solid-state Li-ion batteries, which are not only safer but allow scaling and even elimination of
certain components. As such, they can be made
with a higher effective
energy and power
density. In addition,
they promise a longer
lifetime and a broader
temperature range
of operation. These
advantages encourage
researchers to find
innovative solutions for
the main technological
challenge: making a
stable solid electrolyte
component with high
enough conductance
for ions. An interesting
approach is to scale
down the thickness
of the electrolyte. This way, an acceptable ionic conductance (e.g. 0.1-0.01S/cm2) can be obtained even for solid electrolytes with intrinsically low ion conductivity (e.g. 10-6S/cm). Scaling the electrolyte thickness is most efficiently done in a thin-film configuration and this presents some technical hurdles. Thin electrolyte films could lead to electrical shorts either through pinholes in the film or formation of conductive filaments (cf. a failure mechanism which is at the origin of resistive-RAM). Scaling down the film thickness also magnifies issues at the interfaces as in-diffusion regions may become considerable. This calls for advanced deposition techniques, like atomic layer deposition (ALD), to provide pinhole-free films and control the interfaces and as such the electrical properties of the battery stack.

From planar batteries to 3D thin-film batteries

FIGURE 1. Schematic of a planar (a) and 3D thin-film (b) battery with the following stack: current collector/ electrode/solid electrolyte/electrode/current collector.

FIGURE 1. Schematic of a planar (a) and 3D thin-film (b) battery with the following stack: current collector/ electrode/solid electrolyte/electrode/current collector.

A similar film scaling approach can be applied to the electrodes as well. Scaling down the electrode films significantly enhances the charging/discharging rate of the electrodes, and thus the battery power. But thinning down the films also diminishes the battery capacity, which depends directly on the total available amount of electrode material. In planar batteries, electrode films can therefore not be thinned below one micrometer (resulting in a maximum capacity of 0.07mAh/cm2 in case of a 1 μm thin LCO electrode). Fortunately, there is a way to compensate for the loss in electrode material and increase the battery capacity: the effective area can be increased by coating the thin-film stack on a micro- or nanostructured 3D structure (FIGURE 1).

A key enabling technology for these 3D thin-film batteries is micro- or nanostructuring of the substrate, for example by creating arrays of etched pillars in silicon. In order to maximize the battery power and capacity, an optimum condition in patterning density and film thickness need to be sought. Next, the thin films must be deposited onto the large surface areas in a conformal, pinhole-free and uniform way. Therefore, we need deposition techniques that allow a conformal coating of electrode and electrolyte materials onto high-aspect ratio 3D structured substrates. One of the options being explored at imec is a conformal stack of manganese and titanium based electrodes with a thin viscoelastic electrolyte interlayer (FIGURE 2). To achieve good conformality we rely on deposition techniques such as electrochemical deposition (ECD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD). As a first step, the thin-film batteries are fabricated on a Si platform taking advantage of the existing integrated circuit processing know-how at imec. These micro- batteries will be able to power microsystems such as wireless sensors. In a second stage, the processes and materials will be up-scaled to foil technology so that also batteries for portable electronics and eventually for local storage or electrical vehicles can be made. For this step, the know-how in the System in Foil program and the foil based process integration facilities in Holst Centre, our imec – TNO collaboration in Eindhoven are a big asset.

FIGURE 2. The electrode and electrolyte materials should be deposited onto microstructured surfaces of the substrate (e.g., by the creation of silicon pillar structures, in order to maintain the battery capacity). This figure shows coating of a silicon pillar array with a 200nm film of electrochemically deposited MnO2 on a TiN diffusion layer.

FIGURE 2. The electrode and electrolyte materials should be deposited onto microstructured surfaces
of the substrate (e.g., by the creation of silicon pillar structures, in order to maintain the battery capacity). This figure shows coating of a silicon pillar array with a 200nm film of electrochemically deposited MnO2 on a TiN diffusion layer.

A scaling technology roadmap

Many of the ideas for innovation in battery technology could well come from the IC industry, where the downscaling of the transistor has driven tremendous research efforts into new materials and nanotechnology. The driver behind the steady pace in scaling is a technology roadmap that sets out the specifications and material options for each new transistor generation. This evolution has led to the development of many new processes and techniques, such as advanced deposition techniques like CVD and ALD. Similar to the scaling of transistor technology (i.e. the transistor gate length and gate oxide), we believe a scaling technology roadmap for 3D thin-film batteries can gradually improve their performance (FIGURE 3).

FIGURE 3. Schematic showing the principle of scaling for 3D thin-film batteries.

FIGURE 3. Schematic showing the principle of scaling for 3D thin-film batteries.

The battery power (or charging and discharging rate) of the thin-film battery can be progressively improved by reducing the thickness of the electrode and electrolyte thin films (x axis in the figure). Each new generation (or node) would therefore require thinner pinhole-free, conformal, chemically uniform layers in ever higher aspect ratio features. Simultaneously, the pattern density of the 3D struc- tures must be increased to maintain the volume of the active electrode material (and hence the battery capacity). Or, more surface area can be provided without changing the pattern density, for example by using nanostructured pillars with increased aspect ratio (as indicated on the y axis of the figure). Alternatively, new materials with higher energy-density can be introduced for additional battery capacity.

As for CMOS scaling, the technological requirements for scaling 3D thin-film battery performance are demanding. We will need ever more advanced patterning, etch and deposition technologies to enable pinhole free, high quality coatings and to obtain conformality in extreme aspect ratios. Nevertheless, we believe that such a roadmap can lead us to ultrafast charging batteries. Such type of batteries could remove the need for more battery capacity for multimedia and computer devices as the battery can be constantly recharged in a wireless environment and thus never runs out. This novel mode of battery use is somewhat similar to that of autonomous microsystems where the battery is integrated with an energy harvester to recharge the battery when energy is available. Such solid-state batteries can indeed enable microsystems with full autonomous operation, needed for example in medical implants or automated sensor systems. The exceptional properties of solid-state batteries may also enable new technologies, like smart solar panels where storage is integrated on the backside of the solar panels, for example integrated in the roof of a car, bus or train.

Semiconductors, the foundation of modern electronics used in flat-screen TVs and fighter jets, could become even more versatile as researchers make headway on a novel, inexpensive way to turn them into thin films. Their report on a new liquid that can quickly dissolve nine types of key semiconductors appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Richard L. Brutchey and David H. Webber note that making low-cost, semiconducting thin films on a large scale holds promise for improving a number of electronic applications, including solar cells. The problem has been finding a liquid that can dissolve semiconductors so that they can be subsequently solution-processed using inexpensive methods. Hydrazine can do the trick for many of these materials, but as a compound that is sometimes used in rocket fuel, it is explosive and highly toxic. It’s also a poor option for making semiconducting thin films en masse. Brutchey and his team decided to search for a safer solution.

They found an answer in a mixture of two compounds that could dissolve a set of important semiconducting materials called chalcogenides at room temperature and normal air pressure. The researchers state, “We believe these initial results indicate that the chemistry can be further extended to other families of chalcogenide materials and may hold promise for applications that would benefit from solution deposition of semiconductor thin films.”

solid state thin film batteryVarious power factors have impacted the advancement and development of micro devices. Power density, cell weight, battery life and form factor all have proven significant and cumbersome when considered for micro applications. Markets for solid state thin-film batteries at $65.9 million in 2012 are anticipated to reach $5.95 billion by 2019, according to a new report released by ReportsnReports.com. Market growth is a result of the implementation of a connected world of sensors.

The report points out that development trends are pointing toward integration and miniaturization. Many technologies have progressed down the curve, but traditional batteries have not kept pace. The technology adoption of solid state batteries has implications to the chip grid. One key implication is a drive to integrate intelligent rechargeable energy storage into the chip grid. In order to achieve this requirement, a new product technology has been embraced: solid state rechargeable energy storage devices are far more useful than non-rechargeable devices.

Thin film battery market driving forces include creating business inflection by delivering technology that supports entirely new capabilities. Sensor networks are creating demand for thin film solid state devices. Vendors doubled revenue and almost tripled production volume from first quarter. Multiple customers are moving into production with innovative products after successful trials.

A solid state battery electrolyte is a solid, not porous liquid. The solid is denser than liquid, contributing to the higher energy density. Charging is complex. In an energy-harvesting application, where the discharge is only a little and then there is a trickle back up, the number of recharge cycles goes way up. The cycles increase by the inverse of the depth of discharge. Long shelf life is a benefit of being a solid state battery. The fact that the battery housing does not need to deal with gases and vapors as a part of the charging/discharging process is another advantage of the solid state thin film battery.

Traditional lithium-ion (Li-Ion) technology uses active materials, such as lithium cobalt-oxide or lithium iron phosphate, with particles that range in size between 5 and 20 micrometers. Nano-engineering improves many of the failings of present battery technology. Re-charging time and battery memory are important aspects of nano-structures. Researching battery micro- and nanostructure is a whole new approach that is only just beginning to be explored.

Industrial production of nano batteries requires production of the electrode coatings in large batches so that large numbers of cells can be produced from the same material. Manufacturers using nano materials in their chemistry had to develop unique mixing and handling technologies.

Cymbet millimeter scale solid state battery applications are evolving. In the case of the intra-ocular pressure monitor, it is desirable to place microelectronic systems in very small spaces. Advances in ultra-low power integrated circuits, MEMS sensors and solid state batteries are making these systems a reality. Miniature wireless sensors, data loggers and computers can be embedded in hundreds of applications and millions of locations.

STMicroelectronics and the University of Amsterdam Faculty of Science have announced that a sophisticated bird-tracking system developed by the university is using advanced MEMS sensing technology from ST.

Weighing as little as a 20 euro cent coin or a US quarter and smaller than a car key so as not to impede the birds’ flight, the tracking systems are sophisticated data loggers that can be attached to the back of the birds. The trackers enable valuable scientific research on bird behavior by measuring GPS position every three seconds.

“MEMS technologies are finding their way into a broad range of applications,” said Benedetto Vigna, executive vice president and general manager of ST’s Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group. “The light weight, low power, and high accuracy of the MEMS make it ideal for innovative projects like UvA’s bird tracking system to study avian migration and behavior.”

In addition to the bird’s location, determined via GPS, the tracker collects acceleration and direction data from STMicroelectronics’ LSM303DLM digital compass that integrates low-power, high-performance motion and magnetic sensing in a miniature form factor. The MEMS chip monitors the direction and vertical/horizontal orientation of the animal and can determine the body angle of birds flying in a crosswind.

“Animals have a lot to teach us and, especially as the Earth’s climate changes, there are many projects that we can undertake to study animal behavior and migration patterns,” said Prof. Dr. Ir. Willem Bouten of UvA. “STMicroelectronics is a strong partner for us in developing technologies that are suitable and adaptable to researching challenging problems that could help us address the effects of global warming and land use change.”

The tracker also contains sensors that measure both the air temperature and the internal temperature of the device. A lithium battery, charged by a high-efficient triple-junction solar cell, provides power to the system, and a ZigBee transceiver manages wireless data communication to and from the device.

Data from the trackers is currently being shared among bird-research institutes and biologists to verify computer models that predict bird behavior and migration patterns.

The bird tracking system was developed in a close collaboration of the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics and the Technology Centre both of the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam.

MEMS to track birds
The tracking system weighs a little as a US quarter and is smaller than a car key.

March 15, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — 3M is investing in research and manufacturing of novel silicon (Si) based battery anode materials, for mobile electronics and electric vehicles.

3M recently completed the first phase of silicon anode manufacturing capacity expansion in early 2012 in its Cottage Grove, MN, USA facility. The expansion included the installation of large-scale manufacturing equipment specialized to 3M and its proprietary anode chemistry. The facility will provide Si anode material to 3M’s global battery customers.

3M was recently granted another U.S. patent, 8,071,238 for its Silicon anode compositions that can increase cell capacity by over 40% when matched with high-energy battery cathodes. The company has invested resources and expertise toward commercialization of battery technology for 15 years.

3M also matched a recent US Department of Energy (DOE) grant for $4.6 million as part of efforts to build more energy-efficient vehicles. The research will help to develop and integrate new battery cell materials that will improve energy density and costs in electric vehicles’ lithium-ion batteries. 3M’s lithium ion battery materials include silicon anode chemistry, novel cathode technologies (nickel, manganese, cobalt) and electrolyte (salts and additives). It will integrate these cathode, anode and battery electrolyte additives, particularly its Si-based anode material.

Also read: Analysts: Li-ion output surging, prices plummeting

The research expands upon 3M’s long-standing initiatives in the battery market, to commercialize battery technology for electric vehicles and consumer electronics, noted the company in a release.

For more information about 3M battery materials, visit www.3m.com/batterymaterials.

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A team of engineers from Northwestern University has created an electrode for lithium-ion batteries that allows the batteries to hold a charge up to 10 times greater than current technology. Batteries with the new electrode also can charge 10 times faster than current batteries.

The researchers combined two chemical engineering approaches to address two major battery limitations — energy capacity and charge rate — in one fell swoop. In addition to better batteries for cellphones and iPods, the technology could pave the way for more efficient, smaller batteries for electric cars. The technology could be seen in the marketplace in the next three to five years, the researchers said. A paper describing the research is published by the journal Advanced Energy Materials.

"We have found a way to extend a new lithium-ion battery’s charge life by 10 times," said Harold H. Kung, lead author of the paper. "Even after 150 charges, which would be one year or more of operation, the battery is still five times more effective than lithium-ion batteries on the market today."

Kung (shown) is professor of chemical and biological engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. He also is a Dorothy Ann and Clarence L. Ver Steeg Distinguished Research Fellow.

Lithium-ion batteries charge through a chemical reaction in which lithium ions are sent between two ends of the battery, the anode and the cathode. As energy in the battery is used, the lithium ions travel from the anode, through the electrolyte, and to the cathode; as the battery is recharged, they travel in the reverse direction.

With current technology, the performance of a lithium-ion battery is limited in two ways. Its energy capacity — how long a battery can maintain its charge — is limited by the charge density, or how many lithium ions can be packed into the anode or cathode. Meanwhile, a battery’s charge rate — the speed at which it recharges — is limited by another factor: the speed at which the lithium ions can make their way from the electrolyte into the anode.

In current rechargeable batteries, the anode — made of layer upon layer of carbon-based graphene sheets — can only accommodate one lithium atom for every six carbon atoms. To increase energy capacity, scientists have previously experimented with replacing the carbon with silicon, as silicon can accommodate much more lithium: four lithium atoms for every silicon atom. However, silicon expands and contracts dramatically in the charging process, causing fragmentation and losing its charge capacity rapidly.

Currently, the speed of a battery’s charge rate is hindered by the shape of the graphene sheets: they are extremely thin — just one carbon atom thick — but by comparison, very long. During the charging process, a lithium ion must travel all the way to the outer edges of the graphene sheet before entering and coming to rest between the sheets. And because it takes so long for lithium to travel to the middle of the graphene sheet, a sort of ionic traffic jam occurs around the edges of the material.

Now, Kung’s research team has combined two techniques to combat both these problems. First, to stabilize the silicon in order to maintain maximum charge capacity, they sandwiched clusters of silicon between the graphene sheets. This allowed for a greater number of lithium atoms in the electrode while utilizing the flexibility of graphene sheets to accommodate the volume changes of silicon during use.

"Now we almost have the best of both worlds," Kung said. "We have much higher energy density because of the silicon, and the sandwiching reduces the capacity loss caused by the silicon expanding and contracting. Even if the silicon clusters break up, the silicon won’t be lost."

Kung’s team also used a chemical oxidation process to create in-plane defects (10 to 20 nanometers) in the graphene sheets so the lithium ions would have a "shortcut" into the anode and be stored there by reaction with silicon. This reduced the time it takes the battery to recharge by up to 10 times. This research was all focused on the anode; next, the researchers will begin studying changes in the cathode that could further increase effectiveness of the batteries. They also will look into developing an electrolyte system that will allow the battery to automatically and reversibly shut off at high temperatures — a safety mechanism that could prove vital in electric car applications.

The Energy Frontier Research Center program of the U.S. Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, supported the research.

 The paper is titled "In-Plane Vacancy-Enabled High-Power Si-Graphene Composite Electrode for Lithium-Ion Batteries." Other authors of the paper are Xin Zhao, Cary M. Hayner and Mayfair C. Kung, all from Northwestern.

October 28, 2011 — Printed electronics can improve existing electronics and energy applications, replacing non-printed layers in displays or increasing crystalline silicon photovoltaics efficiency, among other applications shared below.

The giant East Asian electronics companies are replacing several non-printed layers in LCD flat screens with one printed layer, greatly reducing the cost, said Raghu Das, CEO, IDTechEx.

Third-generation lithium-ion batteries are printed and solid state, doubling the all-electric range of new electric cars, Das added.

T-Ink Inc plans to replace heavy, expensive wiring in road vehicles with printed wiring.

DuPont announced recently that it has acquired Innovalight, Inc., a company specializing in advanced nano-silicon inks and process technologies that increase the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells. DuPont exceeded $1 billion in revenue from sales into the conventional photovoltaic market in 2010, and it has set a goal to reach $2 billion by 2014 based on continued growth supported by new innovations that improve solar module efficiency, lifetime and overall system costs. Silicon inks used in conjunction with DuPont Solamet photovoltaic metallization pastes boost the amount of electricity produced from sunlight, enabling the production of superior Selective Emitter solar cells.

Kovio in Milpitas is printing the logic in the electronic tickets of the Los Angeles Metro, replacing the silicon chip at a lower price point.

More examples from Das include OTB group ink jet printing in solar cell mass production, Solexant optimizing solar cell production and Boeing Spectrolab further enhancing solar cell efficiency for space PV to terrestrial applications. In the energy arena, battery testers are printed onto Duracell batteries by Avery Dennison, and OLED displays are printed in phones and cameras.

Raghu Das is CEO of IDTechEx and co-author of the annual, "Printed, Organic & Flexible Electronics Forecasts, Players & Opportunities 2011-2021" available at www.IDTechEx.com/pe.

IDTechEx hosts Printed Electronics USA, this December in Santa Clara, CA, where many of these applications will be discussed. Learn more about IDTechEx at http://www.idtechex.com

October 14, 2011 – Marketwire — mPhase Technologies Inc. (OTCBB:XDSL) was granted access to the technical facilities at the Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM), Argonne National Labs for user-initiated nanoscience & nanotechnology research. mPhase will optimize its micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) Smart silicon membrane, a key component of the mPhase Smart NanoBattery and other potential smart surface applications.

mPhase Smart NanoBattery design uses electrowetting and microfluidic techniques to selectively activate and control the power generated by the cells in the reserve battery. mPhase’s goal is to design batteries with long shelf life, high availability and other programmable factors, said mPhase CEO, Ron Durando.

mPhase will conduct technical analysis and refinement of its smart surfaces technology using Argonne’s sophisticated laboratory tools, which are not readily available to small businesses The CNM nanoscience & nanotechnology research program provides access to capabilities for design, synthesis, characterization, and theory & modeling of nanoscale phenomena, enabling development of functional nanoscale systems.

Also read: mPhase touts progress for nanobattery polymer coating

mPhase Technologies Smart Surface technology combines nanotechnology, MEMS processing and micro fluidics for applications in drug delivery systems, lab-on-a-chip analytic systems, self-cleaning systems, liquid and chemical sensor systems, and filtration systems. More information about the company can be found at http://www.mPhaseTech.com.

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