Wearable Electronics WHERE WE WILL BE
Engineering Solutions Live - 23rd March 2023
Figure 2. Solid-state lithium microbattery cell-stacking architecture.
that is otherwise required to protect a Li-ion microbattery’s liquid electrolyte. In a solid- state lithium microbattery, the cathode and electrolyte are deposited on an ultra-thin substrate (today’s substrates are as little as 10 microns thick) without any of Li-ion microbattery’s special packaging. All of this is now possible using proven high-volume roll-to-roll manufacturing techniques to fabricate the core battery cells. These core cells are then cut from the roll at specified lengths and widths as needed for the wearable or hearable device’s size, fit, comfort and other requirements. Next, they are stacked to the height required for the end-product’s specific capacity needs. Besides increasing VED, these capabilities introduce a level of battery form-factor customization that was not previously possible with Li-ion microbattery alternatives, which are only available in a cylindrical shape and in a small range of standard sizes or must be heavily customized in a cylindrical shape at great expense to OEMs.
Additionally, the stacked core cells can be encapsulated and packaged with cathode and anode metal connectors, which enables direct connection to the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) using Surface Mount Technology (SMT) with a low-temperature (up to +160°C) reflow profile. For the first time, it will be possible to assemble microbatteries onto a wearable or hearable device’s PCB using an industry compatible SMT process that is used with wearable or hearable products’ other electronic components. Figure 2 illustrates the cell- stacking architecture.
Solid-state lithium battery technology also addresses the critically important need for higher pulsing capability to support Bluetooth technology that is implemented into many if not all wearable and hearable devices used for health monitoring – one of their most compelling applications. The challenge is this: wireless communication may occur < 1% of the time, and therefore use very little of a battery’s energy capacity.
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But during this short amount of time, the current draw can be much higher to transmit wireless signals to another electronics device. Unfortunately, Li-ion batteries typically only handle pulse current up to twice their rated current (i.e. a 2mAh battery can handle 4mA of pulse current), so product developers generally must “oversize” their battery capacity beyond what they really need. For instance, if the battery capacity requirement is only 3 mAh, but there is 15 mA pulse during Bluetooth Low Energy communication, the product will need a battery with 7.5 mAh of capacity, just to handle the periodic pulse requirement. In contrast, solid-state lithium battery technology delivers greater than 5C pulse current discharge rates, so developers only need to select batteries based on their actual capacity needs and the current draw required by the circuits. Ensurge tests of packaged microbattery samples have shown that the latest solid-state lithium microbattery designs can produce pulse discharge cycles of 6.4C and are expected to be capable of 10C or greater in future designs.
Removing innovation obstacles The latest solid-state lithium microbattery advances will bring faster charging and discharging to wearable and hearable devices, and remove many of the form- factor obstacles created by conventional Li-ion microbatteries. For the first time, microbatteries will meet the most demanding peak current requirements for wireless transmission without having to add unnecessary capacity. Microbatteries will no longer hold back product innovation and be the most challenging item to integrate onto the hearable or wearable PCB. They will be treated more like modern electronic components, and enable wearables and hearables to do more on a single charge, recharge faster, and deliver more features in smaller products that fit more comfortably and deliver a host of new capabilities.
https://ensurge.com/ Components in Electronics July/August 2023 53
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Engineering Design Show - 11th & 12th October 2023
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