Design of Combined Scanning Ion Conductance and Atomic Force Microscope for Investigation of Lithium Iron Phosphate

In this study we aim to create a scanning probe measurement device capable of studying the charging characteristics of battery materials. While Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy (SICM) allows for local probing of conductance characteristics of materials, the poor spatial resolution of this technique limits its use to flat samples. By combining SICM with Atomic Force Microscopy we may overcome these issues and produce spatially resolved ionic conductance measurements in real time. This can be used to coordinate the charging characteristics of lithium iron phosphate battery materials with conformational changes which occur through charging events.