ELECTRODE SURFACE ROUGHNESS CONTROL FOR SPRAY COATING PROCESS FOR LITHIUM ION BATTERY

摘要

A method and apparatus for fabricating energy storage devices and device components is provided. It has been found that spraying of slurries comprising electro-active materials onto a flexible substrate and subsequently exposing the substrate to an increasing temperature gradient leads to the deposition of a dry or mostly dry film having reduced surface roughness. The increasing temperature gradient may result from a plurality of heated rollers over which the substrate traverses wherein each heated roller is heated to a temperature greater than the previous heated roller leading to the deposition of a dry or mostly dry film having a relatively smooth surface with low porosity. Deposition of a dry or mostly dry film eliminates the need for large and costly drying mechanism thus reducing both the cost and footprint of the apparatus.