In-line Metrology Improves Battery Safety and Performance
To address the needs of the rapidly growing battery market, Thermo Fisher Scientific today introduced the Thermo Scientific LInspector Edge In-line Mass Profilometer, which delivers full-width electrode mass loading measurement and provides battery manufacturers with the data needed to make better, safer batteries, more efficiently. The LInspector Edge analyzer introduces the next generation of metrology capabilities through a new analytical technique, in-line mass profilometry, measuring complete edge-to-edge coating profiles in milliseconds with unprecedented resolution and precision.
Uniform, defect-free coatings are essential for superior battery performance, for the attainment of higher charge densities, faster recharge times, longer operational lifetime, and better reliability. Traditional in-line coating weight measurement gauges use a single spot sensor traversing across the electrode sheet to assess coating quality, but several meters of electrode are produced in the time it takes to complete a single profile scan and much of the electrode goes unmeasured. In contrast, the LInspector Edge In-line Mass Profilometer measures the entire electrode in real-time, at full production speed offering more complete insights for battery manufacturers.
Advanced Process Control
The LInspector Edge In-line Mass Profilometer delivers a full coating profile every 3 millimeters providing the fastest measurement feedback which means quicker, better-informed, and more accurate control decisions. This enables swifter start-up and accelerated product transitions to reduce scrap and increase throughput.
“Superior batteries, particularly for electric vehicles, are critical to society’s planned transition to clean energy,” said Miguel Faustino, president of Chemical Analysis at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “We are committed to providing battery manufacturers with analytical technology to meet this challenge and are excited to be able to offer this significant step forward in quality assurance capabilities. The LInspector Edge In-line Mass Profilometer sets a new benchmark for electrode coating analysis and provides a foundation for higher performance batteries, reduced risk to quality, better process control, and more profitable operation.”
Traceability of an entire electrode roll is finally possible with the LInspector Edge In-line Mass Profilometer through complete coating uniformity measurements for the entire production run, in the form of easily accessible, high-resolution images. This new mass profilometry technology can deliver visibility of the entire life cycle of every electrode roll with valuable data to quickly spot production issues or trends allowing battery manufacturers to make proactive improvements to optimize the production process for maximum efficiency.
Thanks to a greater insight into mass loading of active material on the coating edges and a complete mapping of mass loading on the entire electrode, battery manufacturers can now benefit from previously unobtainable richness of data for production control and full traceability for each electrode patch, stripe, or roll, allowing them to meet increasingly stringent quality requirements for energy storage devices.
In the past, the battery industry relied on industry standard coating weight scanning technologies, which typically only inspect the loading on a small fraction of the electrode surface area. According to an industry innovator and beta user, “Thermo Fisher Scientific’s new technology enables the inspection of 100% of the area of all electrodes manufactured, eliminating blind spots in the data and reducing the risk of defects reaching the final product.”
For more information: www.thermofisher.com
