Electrode Assembly With Etched Voids For Robust Submicron Conduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Micro and nano scale electrodes face challenges such as small electrical signals, lack of robustness, difficulty in fabrication, and homogeneity issues, which limit their commercial impact due to mechanical and thermal stress, and require high-resolution photolithography, making them expensive and prone to failure.
Innovation Solution
A laminate structure with a conducting layer capped by an insulating layer, featuring an array of etched voids that act as internal submicron electrodes, providing robust and reproducible conduction pathways, allowing for efficient mass transport and high current measurement without sensitive equipment, and enabling precise control of electrode dimensions for enhanced electrochemical performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If traditional techniques are used to fabricate micro and nano scale electrodes, then enhanced mass transport and greater current density are achieved, but the electrodes become fragile and prone to failure under mechanical stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite structure combining a flexible substrate material with a conductive polymer layer. The substrate provides mechanical robustness while the conductive polymer layer maintains electrical conductivity and flexibility, creating a composite electrode that is both strong and electrically functional under mechanical stress.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a flexible substrate and thin conductive polymer layer to create an electrode that can withstand bending and mechanical deformation. The flexible film structure allows the electrode to maintain its structural integrity and electrical conductivity when subjected to mechanical stress, unlike traditional rigid microelectrodes.
2Manufacturing precision
If high-resolution photolithography is used to pattern nanoscale electrodes, then precise electrode dimensions are achieved, but fabrication cost increases and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex photolithography patterning processes with simpler dip-pen nanolithography or direct writing techniques. This substitution uses mechanical deposition methods instead of optical patterning, achieving precise electrode dimensions through controlled material deposition rather than complex photolithographic steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable consumable materials such as polymer films and conductive inks that can be easily applied and discarded. This approach uses inexpensive, readily available materials instead of expensive photolithography equipment and processes, reducing fabrication cost while maintaining precision through controlled application methods.
3Productivity
If hyper-thin layers are used in electrode structures, then mass transport efficiency is improved, but homogeneity deteriorates due to breaks in connectivity through grains
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses amorphous conductive polymers instead of crystalline materials, eliminating grain boundaries and achieving uniform homogeneous composition throughout the thin layer. This homogeneous structure ensures continuous conductivity and consistent mass transport properties without the breaks in connectivity that occur in crystalline materials at the nanoscale.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material structure from crystalline to amorphous, fundamentally altering the physical state to eliminate grain boundaries. This parameter change in material structure enables thin layers to maintain both homogeneity and high mass transport efficiency, as the amorphous structure provides continuous pathways for ion and electron transport.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The electrode assembly achieves robust and reproducible performance with high current capabilities, thermal and mechanical stability, and efficient mass transport, overcoming limitations of traditional micro and nano electrodes, and enabling smaller, more efficient electrochemical devices with improved signal-to-noise ratios.
Implementation Method 1
a first insulating capping layer; a first conducting layer capped by the first insulating capping layer
Implementation Method 2
a first conducting layer capped by the first insulating capping layer and substantially sandwiched by at least the first insulating capping layer such as to leave exposed only an electrical contact lip of the first conducting layer
Implementation Method 3
an array of etched voids extending through at least the first insulating capping layer and the first conducting layer
Implementation Method 4
efficient mass transport
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an electrode assembly having a laminate structure comprising: a first insulating capping layer; a first conducting layer capped by the first insulating capping layer and substantially sandwiched by at least the first insulating capping layer such as to leave exposed only an electrical contact lip of the first conducting layer; and an array of etched voids extending through at least the first insulating capping layer and the first conducting layer, wherein each void is partly bound by a surface of the first conducting layer which acts as an internal submicron electrode.