Precision Multilayer Technology Pushes Performance of High-Energy-Density Capacitors
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TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES
Precision Multilayer Technology Pushes Performance of HighEnergy-Density Capacitors Precision thin-film multilayer technology is being applied by researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to push the performance limits of high-energy-density capacitors to new levels. At present, 0.5–1.0 J/cm3 prototype capacitors, 1 mm thick with a 4-cm2 footprint, have achieved 50 J/cm3 dielectric energy densities. The goal of the work is to produce high-energy capacitors in the Technology Advances provides upto-date reports of materials developments that show potential to bridge the gap between research innovation and application of advanced materials technologies. If you encounter or are involved with materials research that shows potential for commercialization and would like to present these developments, contact Renée G. Ford, Renford Communications, Ltd., P.O. Box 72, Harrison, NY 10528-0072; tel. 914-967-0955; fax 914-967-7927; or e-mail [email protected].
MRS BULLETIN/NOVEMBER 2001
~100 J/cm3 range with increased energy density, a footprint of less than 1 cm2, and a total height of less than 0.5 mm, as shown in Figure 1. Applications for the nanostructure multilayer capacitors (NMCs) include power electronics control circuitry, automotive control systems, telecommunications, and computers. In addition, such capacitors are found in most high-energy power supplies, radar systems, and pulsed radio-frequency applications. As snubber capacitors, they are used to protect power switching devices from voltage transients and to divert energy from a power device during switching transitions. Nanostructure multilayers as a class of materials can be described as atomicscale laminates comprising two to more than 200,000 layers. Each lamination varies in thickness from a few angstroms to several thousand angstroms and can be composed of a variety of materials. The researchers have fabricated multilayers out of 80 different elements. The multilayer fabrication method circumvents the standard method of tailoring atomic structure in the solid state, which relies on thermodynamics and kinetics to create the degree of order or disorder in
Figure 1. Idealized aspects of a multilayered capacitor design, showing the alternating metal and dielectric laminations and a cross section of the multilayered capacitor. The total height, including the substrate, will be less than 0.5 mm.
the structures. The structures are “atomically engineered,” a single layer of molecules or atoms at a time, using magnetron sputtering techniques. As a result of the precise chemical thickness and surface structure control, which transcends natural processes and standard manufacturing methods, surprising properties are detected in these nanolaminated multi861
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TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES layers, compared with the macro properties of the same materials. Each layer is only several atoms to several thousand atoms thick. As a result, the atoms within the layer are strongly influenced by both boundar
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