Applied Materials, Inc.

Jan Isidorsson

Lizhong Sun

Byung-Sung Kwak

Chong Jiang

The present invention relates to sputter targets for electrochemical device layer deposition comprising a lithium-containing target material with near-metallic electrical conductivity which includes (a) at least one metal and (b) a lithium-containing material, the lithium-containing material being selected from the group consisting of lithium metal and a lithium-containing salt, wherein the at least one metal and the lithium-containing material are formed into the lithium-containing target material and wherein the lithium-containing target material is configured with a composition sufficient for physical vapor deposition of a lithium-containing electrode of the electrochemical device in a single step, the lithium-containing electrode as deposited requiring no further lithium doping. Furthermore, the composition of the metallic lithium-containing target material may be configured to provide a low enough electrical resistance to permit DC sputtering. Chambers and tools including the sputter target and process flows for fabricating electrochemical devices including steps utilizing the sputter target are also described.

Lithium containing composite metallic sputtering targets

The present invention generally relates to electrochemical devices, such as electrochromic (EC) devices and thin film batteries (TFB), and in particular to anodes of electrochemical devices with improved intercalation and/or transport properties. Some embodiments of the invention include anodes, such as nickel oxide, doped with Si, Sn, SiOand/or SnO, which may be in the form of nanoparticles or even substituted atoms/molecules. These nanoparticles/substituted atoms, which have higher lithium intercalation capability, distort the lattice of the anode, improving movement and intercalation of Li ions. In some other embodiments, the anode may be formed of silicon oxide and/or tin oxide, which materials have good transport and intercalation of Li ions.

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Jan Isidorsson