Matter
Volume 2, Issue 6, 3 June 2020, Pages 1366-1376
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Perspective
Three-Dimensional Microbatteries beyond Lithium Ion

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2020.04.020Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Discuss challenges and solutions to develop 3D microbatteries

  • Provide an overview of the state-of-the-art 3D beyond-lithium microbatteries

  • Offer a pathway toward massive application of 3D beyond-lithium microbatteries

Progress and Potential

Current thin-film lithium microbatteries are unable to supply sufficient energy and power for stand-alone microelectronics. In contrast, three-dimensional battery configuration can significantly enhance the energy and power of microbatteries in a given footprint. Recently, battery architectures based on beyond-lithium systems have drawn substantial attention owing to their potentially high energy, high power, and widespread applications. However, their status as on-chip power sources in microelectronics is being questioned as they are plagued by individual shortcomings. In this Perspective, a discussion is provided on the scientific advancement regarding the reaction kinetics control, electrochemical stability improvement, and reaction mechanism understanding in beyond-lithium systems. By identifying the challenges and proposing possible solutions, we hope this Perspective offers a pathway toward massive application of three-dimensional microbatteries in autonomous electronics.

Summary

Ubiquitous implementation of microelectronics in microelectromechanical systems requires stable power supplies and necessitates development of on-chip miniature power sources, such as microbatteries. However, conventional thin-film batteries exhibit limited surface area and sluggish diffusion kinetics with insufficient energy and power density. In contrast, three-dimensional beyond-lithium (e.g., sodium, zinc, aluminum) battery architectures can significantly enhance the areal energy and power and meanwhile maintain the low-cost mass production. Despite this, the future of beyond-lithium systems is being questioned as they each present shortcomings. In this Perspective, we discuss scientific advancements in reaction kinetics control, electrochemical stability improvements, and reaction mechanism understanding in three-dimensional beyond-lithium battery systems and call for intensive research efforts to address the challenges and develop strategies that can pave the way toward their commercialization.

Keywords

3D
battery
array

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