Method

• Main Authors: Brian Elliott Hayden, Alexandros Anastasopoulos, Louise Turner, David Michael Laughman, Gianfranco Aresta, Christopher Edward Lee, Duncan Clifford Alan Smith, Samuel Guerin
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 09.06.2021
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY IONIMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; ELECTRICITY; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; METALLURGY; PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSIONOF CHEMICAL INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THESURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION

A vapour deposition method for preparing an amorphous lithium borosilicate or doped lithium borosilicate compound 29 comprises providing a flow of vapour sources of at least lithium, oxygen, boron and silicon 18, 20, 22, 24 to co-deposit the component elements on a substrate 14, which react to form the amorphous compound, wherein the compound has a lithium content in the range 40 - 65 atomic percent based on the combined atomic percentages of lithium, boron and silicon. The method may be used to form a surface-modified electrode or an electrolyte layer of a battery. The deposited compound may exhibit high ionic conductivity. The lithium vapour source may be provided by heating material in a crucible to generate a flux of material, for example using a Knudsen cell source. The rate of deposition of lithium may be controlled by varying the temperature of the Knudsen source. The silicon and boron vapour sources may be provided using electron gun sources. The vapour source of oxygen may be atomic or molecular oxygen and preferably comprises an oxygen plasma source.