Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.

Ovonic Battery Company, Inc.

Sovonics Solar Systems

Herbert L Ovshinsky

Stanford R Ovshinsky

Rosa T Young

Peter H Klose

David A Gattuso

A multi-chambered deposition apparatus for depositing solid-state, thin-film battery materials onto substrate material. The apparatus minimally includes at least three distinct evacuable deposition chambers, which are physically interconnected in series. The first deposition chamber is adapted to deposit a layer of battery electrode material having a first polarity onto the substrate. The second deposition chamber is adapted to deposit a layer of solid-state electrolyte material onto the layer of battery electrode material deposited in the first chamber. The third deposition chamber is adapted to deposit a layer of battery electrode material having an opposite polarity from that deposited in the first chamber onto the solid-state electrolyte. The deposition chambers are interconnected by gas gates such that the substrate material is allowed to proceed from one deposition chamber to the next, while maintaining gaseous segregation between the chambers.

Apparatus for deposition of thin-film, solid state batteries

A passageway which includes an annular region, the passageway adapted to isolate the gaseous contents of one of a pair of adjacent, vacuumized environments from the other of the pair while providing for the movement of a substrate therebetween.

Isolation passageway including annular region

A vertical processor for the continuous deposition of semiconductor alloy material by glow discharge techniques. The vertical processor includes a plurality of operatively interconnected deposition chambers, at least one chamber of which includes a generally vertical cathode plate about each of the opposed faces of which a plasma region is developed and a substrate continuously passes for the deposition of semiconductor alloy material thereonto. Through the utilization of the vertical deposition scenario, the length of the processor may be substantially foreshortened, power consumption may be substantially decreased and feedstock gases may be more efficiently utilized.

Vertical semiconductor processor

An apparatus and methods for producing a transmission barrier for inhibiting propagation of light into still unimaged transparent portions of microfiche recording system intermediate film strips by light-piping action are described. The barrier serves to optically isolate the subsequently-to-be-imaged still unexposed portion of the film strip in a dispensing film head from the illumination used to transfer the previously developed image on the exposed portion of the strip onto a permanent recording medium, such as a microfiche film card. In one exemplary form of the invention, the barrier regions are photographically produced dark bands or lines between the longitudinally spaced areas of the film strip to be imaged. These bands or lines are preferably created as latent images during the initial exposure of the intermediate film and subsequently developed at the same time as the record image. Alternative embodiments include placing bands or lines of light absorbing material on the film strip or by serrating or otherwise locally deforming the intermediate film strip to produce the barrier regions, the serrations serving to spoil total internal reflection in the film. Long term fogging of the film by normal ambient light is dealt with by providing an automatic film payout feature. Particular applications to archival microfiche systems involving the intermediate film strip carrying a transferable image are described. An apparatus for using pre-formed barriers on the film strip to regulate film advance is described.

Growing community of inventors

Oak Park, MI, United States of America

Herbert L Ovshinsky