Infinite Power Announces Discharge Capacity Breakthrough With Solid-State, Rechargeable, Micro-Energy Storage Technology
Infinite Power Solutions, Inc. (IPS) announced what it describes as a major breakthrough by achieving in excess of 3.0 mAh of discharge capacity (exceeding 12 mWh/~43 Joules of energy) within a single cell of its thin-film micro-energy storage technology.
Based on initial tests, this is said to equate to 60 times more capacity than other solid-state, rechargeable thin-film batteries (TFBs) available today. This energy density improvement was achieved in an extremely thin and compact footprint, roughly the size of a U.S. postage stamp (25.4 x 25.4 x 0.17mm). The company claims that this breakthrough represents another milestone in the its mission to redefine micro energy storage, while also highlighting its ability to extend its core thin-film micro-energy cell (MEC™) technology with significant capacity gains.
"Our early-access customers are already taking delivery of our MEC standard products, which deliver industry-leading performance," said Dr. Bernd Neudecker, IPS’ Chief Technology Officer. "This breakthrough translates directly to achieving even greater performance advantages in future products, as we progress along an aggressive technology roadmap. In addition, we achieved this profound capacity gain by extending our core technology, which is already in commercial pre-production, demonstrating we can continue to meet our customer’s future requirements."
This high capacity benchmark was achieved by optimizing the lithium cobalt oxide layer deposition using a state-of-the-art physical vapor deposition (PVD) process. While commonly referred to within the industry as a thin-film battery, IPS states that its thin-film MEC technology is truly unique and represents a new class of energy storage device. These MECs are well suited for remote, permanently powered microelectronics compared to traditional rechargeable micro-batteries and capacitors. Moreover, IPS’ technology is well suited for use with all forms of ambient energy harvesting techniques for recharging--such as solar, thermal, RF, magnetic and vibration energy.
Dr. Neudecker credits the IPS technology development team, led by Alexandra LaGuardia, with today’s breakthrough. According to LaGuardia, "Achieving such a high capacity in a single cell promises to extend the run time for a countless number of electronic devices, and simplifies the design to use fewer cells. Run times would be five times longer than our current standard cells. Moreover, this technology allows for cell stacking to form battery modules in order to realize even greater capacity advantages."
