Leland Stanford Junior University

Quantumscape Battery, Inc.

Quantumscape Corporation

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Patents & Technologies North America, LLC

Timothy P Holme

Friedrich B Prinz

Rainer Johannes Fasching

Zhebo Chen

Ghyrn E Loveness

Joseph Han

Neil Dasgupta

Weston Arthur Hermann

Niall Donnelly

Marie A Mayer

Andrei Teodor Iancu

Bradley Owen Stimson

Jagdeep Singh

Aram Yang

Cheng Chieh Chao

James F Mack

Karl M Brown

Sriram Rangarajan Iyer

Mohit Singh

Lei Cheng

Cheng-Chieh Chao

Will Hudson

Tiffany Ho

Takane Usui

Wonyoung Lee

Martin M Winterkorn

David Eric Berkstresser

Oleh Karpenko

Eric Tulsky

Arnold Allenic

Yi Zhou

Masayuki Sugawara

Hitoshi Iwadate

Tommy Huang

Hee Joon Jung

Michael C Langston

Munekazu Motoyama

Jon Shan

Yamini Mohan

John Olenick

Lucas Broganer

Greg Roberts

Matthew Sheffield

Yang Li

Adrian Winoto

Dong Hee Anna Choi

Kian Kerman

Shuang Li

William H Gardner

Amal Mehrotra

Gengfu Xu

Wes Hermann

Christopher Dekmezian

Harsh Maheshwari

Stephen P Walch

Xu Tian

David Cao

Philip B Van Stockum

Andrel Iancu

Phil Reilly

Murugan Ramaswamy

Dylan Tozier

Dong Hee Choi

Bradley O Stimson

Set forth herein are processes and materials for making ceramic thin films by casting ceramic source powders and precursor reactants, binders, and functional additives into unsintered thin films and subsequently sintering the thin films under controlled atmospheres and on specific substrates.

Processes and materials for casting and sintering green garnet thin films

Methods and apparatus for fabricating separators for solid-state lithium metal batteries employ rapid thermal processing. Aspects include high temperature sintering. Temperatures, durations of heat application, and proximity of heating elements to materials undergoing sintering combine to provide separators with desirable physical characteristics, including porosity, in a batch process.

Rapid thermal processing methods and apparatus

Provided herein are rapid, high quality film sintering processes that include high-throughput continuous sintering of lithium-lanthanum zirconium oxide (lithium-stuffed garnet). The instant disclosure sets forth equipment and processes for making high quality, rapidly-processed ceramic electrolyte films. These processes include high-throughput continuous sintering of lithium-lanthanum zirconium oxide for use as electrolyte films. In certain processes, the film is not in contact with any surface as it sinters (i.e., during the sintering phase).

Rapid ceramic processing techniques and equipment

The disclosure herein relates to rechargeable batteries and solid electrolytes therefore which include lithium-stuffed garnet oxides, for example, in a thin film, pellet, or monolith format wherein the density of defects at a surface or surfaces of the solid electrolyte is less than the density of defects in the bulk. In certain disclosed embodiments, the solid-state anolyte, electrolyte, and catholyte thin films, separators, and monoliths consist essentially of an oxide that conducts Liions. In some examples, the disclosure herein presents new and useful solid electrolytes for solid-state or partially solid-state batteries. In some examples, the disclosure presents new lithium-stuffed garnet solid electrolytes and rechargeable batteries which include these electrolytes as separators between a cathode and a lithium metal anode.

Lithium-stuffed garnet electrolytes with a reduced surface defect density and methods of making and using the same

Set forth herein are pellets, thin films, and monoliths of lithium-stuffed garnet electrolytes having engineered surfaces. These engineered surfaces have a list of advantageous properties including, but not limited to, low surface area resistance, high Liion conductivity, low tendency for lithium dendrites to form within or thereupon when the electrolytes are used in an electrochemical cell. Other advantages include voltage stability and long cycle life when used in electrochemical cells as a separator or a membrane between the positive and negative electrodes. Also set forth herein are methods of making these electrolytes including, but not limited to, methods of annealing these electrolytes under controlled atmosphere conditions. Set forth herein, additionally, are methods of using these electrolytes in electrochemical cells and devices. The instant disclosure further includes electrochemical cells which incorporate the lithium-stuffed garnet electrolytes set forth herein.

Annealed garnet electrolyte separators

Set forth herein are garnet material compositions, e.g., lithium-stuffed garnets and lithium-stuffed garnets doped with alumina, which are suitable for use as electrolytes and catholytes in solid state battery applications. Also set forth herein are lithium-stuffed garnet thin films having fine grains therein. Disclosed herein are novel and inventive methods of making and using lithium-stuffed garnets as catholytes, electrolytes and/or anolytes for all solid state lithium rechargeable batteries. Also disclosed herein are novel electrochemical devices which incorporate these garnet catholytes, electrolytes and/or anolytes. Also set forth herein are methods for preparing novel structures, including dense thin (<50 um) free standing membranes of an ionically conducting material for use as a catholyte, electrolyte, and, or, anolyte, in an electrochemical device, a battery component (positive or negative electrode materials), or a complete solid state electrochemical energy storage device. Also, the methods set forth herein disclose novel sintering techniques, e.g., for heating and/or field assisted (FAST) sintering, for solid state energy storage devices and the components thereof.

Garnet materials for Li secondary batteries and methods of making and using garnet materials

Provided herein are electrochemical cells having a solid separator, a lithium metal anode, and a positive electrode catholyte wherein the electrochemical cell includes a nitrile, dinitrile, or organic sulfur-including solvent and a lithium salt dissolved therein. Also set forth are methods of making and using these electrochemical cells.

Catholytes for solid state rechargeable batteries, battery architectures suitable for use with these catholytes, and methods of making and using the same

The present invention is directed to battery system and operation thereof. In an embodiment, lithium material is plated onto the anode region of a lithium secondary battery cell by a pulsed current. The pulse current may have both positive and negative polarity. One of the polarities causes lithium material to plate onto the anode region, and the opposite polarity causes lithium dendrites to be removed. There are other embodiments as well.

Pulse plating of lithium material in electrochemical devices

The present invention is directed to battery technologies and processing techniques thereof. In various embodiments, ceramic electrolyte powder material (or component thereof) is mixed with two or more flux to form a fluxed powder material. The fluxed powder material is shaped and heated again at a temperature less than 1100° C. to form a dense lithium conducting material. There are other variations and embodiments as well.

Thin film lithium conducting powder material deposition from flux

Set forth herein are processes for making lithium-stuffed garnet oxides (e.g., LiLaZrO, also known as LLZO) that have passivated surfaces comprising a fluorinate and/or an oxyfluorinate species. These surfaces resist the formation of oxides, carbonates, hydroxides, peroxides, and organics that spontaneously form on LLZO surfaces under ambient conditions. Also set forth herein are new materials made by these processes.

Lithium-stuffed garnet thin films and pellets having an oxyfluorinated and/or fluorinated surface and methods of making and using the thin films and pellets

Pulse plating of lithium matertal in electrochemical devices

Growing community of inventors

Menlo Park, CA, United States of America

Timothy P Holme