(Invited) ALD of Thin Films for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique is a thin film deposition method that provides highly conformal films on 3D structured supports, including powder materials. The technique relies on sequential self-limiting gas-to-surface reactions which enable control of thin film depositions even down to the atomic level on complex surface geometries. Even if ALD technique has been used in the semiconductor industry in production scale for several years now, there are rather few reports on ALD of battery materials. However, the recent development in processes for lithium containing films clearly opens up new possibilities. Promising applications of ALD include 3D structured all-solid-state batteries and surface modification of electrode powders. The present paper presents an overview of the present status in application of ALD in the field of lithium ion batteries.