[labnetwork] Lithium Compound target in the Sputtering

[JR Gaines]

Hello Shiva,

The materials you mention are the principle layers of an all solid-state lithium ion battery.  LiCoO2 is the cathode of the battery, and is electrically conductive so that it can be sputtered DC or RF.  The Li3PO4 is an electrical insulator but ionic conductor so it must be sputtered by RF.  Typically, the user wants to form a nitrogen-doped version of Li3PO4 which is similar to Li3PO(4-x)N(x) where x is about 0.3 – so that the Li3PO4 needs to be sputtered in a background of N2.  Some people use pure N2 as the working gas in the chamber Vs a mix of Ar/N2.

A cartoon of the battery stack, as developed by Dr. John Bates et al .. at the Oak Ridge National Lab, is attached.

You must avoid cross contamination between the LiCoO2 and Li3PO4 for obvious reasons.  The LiCoO2 layer is typically grown on top of a high temperature electrode, like gold or tantalum, because the as-deposited film will likely be amorphous and require and ex-situ anneal in air to become crystalline.

I am not aware of any safety issues as there is typically no free lithium that evolves during sputtering of these materials.  I do suggest that you try and shield your chamber walls and other things in your chamber to facilitate clean up.

If you want some papers on the sputter if the materials and thin film batteries in general let me know.

J.R.

From: labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu [mailto:labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu] On Behalf Of Shivakumar Bhaskaran
Sent: Monday, February 15, 2016 10:50 AM
To: labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu
Subject: [labnetwork] Lithium Compound target in the Sputtering


Due to interest of fabricating battery device, we have users requesting for sputtering LiCoO2 and Li3PO4.

Have anyone used this materials in your sputtering system. Will this material have contamination issue with other processes (mostly metals). Do I need to follow any safety procedures before/after sputtering.

Thanks
-Shiva


Shivakumar Bhaskaran, Ph.D.
Searle CleanRoom Manager
The University of Chicago
5735 S.Ellis, Room 032
Chicago-60637
Ph:773-795-2297
https://searle-cleanroom.uchicago.edu/

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