The development of next-generation lithium-ion batteries with volumetric energy densities >750 Wh/L and gravimetric energy densities >400 Wh/kg is a key objective of the European Union’s Strategic Energy Technology Plan to be achieved by 2030. Both new materials and production strategies play an important role in the development of those batteries. Thick-film electrodes are advantageous to increase the volumetric and gravimetric energy densities alike since the amount of inactive material can be reduced. To facilitate higher C-rates during (dis-)charging in thick-film electrodes, laser generated structured are introduced, thus creating new lithium-ion diffusion pathways leading to a reduced cell polarization. Additionally, electrode wetting with liquid electrolyte is significantly improved, reducing the risk of dry spots in the electrode stack. Industry interest in implementing laser patterning of electrodes into existing or planned manufacturing lines has increased significantly in recent times. The strip speeds of electrode production are decisive for the required speeds to be realized in laser structuring. Various technical approaches can be applied to upscale the laser patterning process such as multibeam processing which can be realized by splitting a laser beam into several beamlets with a DOE. In this work, a large field scanner and a related optical lens system are combined with an ultrashort pulsed, high repetition rate, high power laser source. The ablation behavior of commercial graphite composite electrode material was investigated for upscaling using different laser patterning scenarios.
Laser structuring is introduced to homogenize the wetting of electrodes with liquid electrolyte, to avoid or significantly shorten the process time of warm ageing, and to reduce the lithium-ion diffusion overpotential that occurs during highperformance operation or when thick-film electrodes are applied. For the integration of the laser structuring process into the cell production line, the process speed must be adapted to the electrode coating speed. Various strategies, including increasing the repetition rate and laser power, beam shaping, where the Gaussian beam is formed into a rectangular intensity profile (1D top-hat), and multibeam processing by beam splitting, are pursued here. In the presented study, a laser system providing an average pulse duration of 600 fs, repetition rates in the MHz range, and a maximum power of 300 W, was applied. The ablation results are compared to those of a ps laser system that operates at lower repetition rates. The ablation depth and width as well as the appearance of the structures depending on the applied maximum energy density, repetition rate, and structuring speed, were evaluated, while the pulse overlap was kept constant. It was shown that the use of very high repetition rates leads to a decrease in ablation depth as well as a widening of the manufactured grooves, as the developing of material vapor plasma and ejected particles modify the absorption of subsequent laser pulses. A maximal scanning speed of 1.7 m/s could be achieved for the laser structuring applying a Gaussian beam.
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