Directly integrated all-solid-state flexible lithium batteries on polymer substrate

Recently, all-solid-state lithium batteries have attracted great attention due to their safe operation without risk of explosion under high operating voltage. However, integrating all solid layers on flexible polymer substrate has been hampered by conflicts between the high crystallization temperature and the endurable temperature of the polymer substrate. In this work, we present a simple fabrication method for all-solid-state flexible lithium batteries that are directly integrated on a polymer substrate. Using excimer laser annealing technique, we are able to selectively crystalize the amorphous cathode layer grown on top of the polymer platform without any damage to the substrate. Our flexible battery is bendable up to a curvature radius of 9 mm without mechanical breakdown, and has an initial capacity of 20 μA h μm−1 cm−2 at a 0.2 C-rate. Our approach using laser annealing provides new opportunities for integrating all-solid-state lithium thin film batteries on a broader range of platforms.