Sintered Electrodes for Implantable Medical Device Energy Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing energy storage devices for implantable medical devices, such as defibrillators, face challenges with compactness, efficiency, and reliability due to the use of etched electrodes, which are prone to breakage and have limited surface area, resulting in reduced energy storage capacity and increased equivalent series resistance.
Innovation Solution
The development of sintered electrodes with a sintered portion on a substrate, which increases surface area and reduces equivalent series resistance, allowing for improved energy storage and compact design suitable for implantable devices, utilizing sintering to create interstices that enhance electrolyte interaction and electron movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If etched electrodes are used in energy storage devices, then the device structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the surface area is limited and the electrodes are prone to breakage, resulting in reduced energy storage capacity and increased equivalent series resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous sintered metal materials to create electrodes with high surface area and interconnected pore structures. The sintering process creates a robust three-dimensional network that is both mechanically strong and electrically conductive, eliminating the breakage issues of etched electrodes while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through powder metallurgy techniques
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite structures combining sintered metal particles with binder materials to create electrodes that integrate mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, and structural stability. This composite approach allows the electrode to withstand mechanical stresses while maintaining low equivalent series resistance and high surface area for energy storage
2Ease of manufacture
If etched electrodes are used in energy storage devices, then the manufacturing process is straightforward, but the surface area is limited, resulting in reduced energy storage capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The sintered electrode structure creates a porous network with vastly increased surface area compared to traditional etched electrodes. The interconnected pores provide extensive surface area for electrolyte interaction and charge storage without significantly increasing the overall electrode volume, thereby enhancing energy storage capacity while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through powder compression and sintering processes
3Device complexity
If etched electrodes are used in energy storage devices, then the device design is simple, but the equivalent series resistance is increased, reducing efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The porous sintered electrode structure provides extensive conductive pathways through its interconnected pore network, significantly reducing equivalent series resistance. The three-dimensional conductive network allows efficient electron transport across the electrode, minimizing energy losses while maintaining a relatively simple overall device design without requiring complex electrode geometries
4Quantity of substance
If larger electrodes are used to increase energy storage capacity, then the energy storage capacity improves, but the device size increases, reducing portability and implantability
Solution Approach 1:
The sintered porous electrode structure achieves high surface area within a compact volume, allowing increased energy storage capacity without proportionally increasing device size. The porous network packs extensive conductive surface area into a small space, enabling high-capacity energy storage in compact, portable, and implantable device configurations
Solution Approach 2:
The sintering process creates a three-dimensional porous network structure that utilizes vertical and lateral dimensions efficiently, packing extensive surface area into a compact volume. This dimensional optimization allows the electrode to achieve high energy storage capacity in a miniaturized form factor suitable for portable and implantable applications
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
Sintered electrodes provide enhanced energy density, improved capacitance, and reduced risk of breakage, enabling the creation of smaller, more efficient implantable medical devices capable of delivering therapeutic energy effectively.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing sintering to create interstices that enhance electrolyte interaction and electron movement
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
An example includes a capacitor case sealed to retain electrolyte, at least one anode disposed in the capacitor case, the at least one anode comprising a sintered portion disposed on a substrate, an anode conductor coupled to the substrate in electrical communication with the sintered portion, the anode conductor sealingly extending through the capacitor case to an anode terminal disposed on the exterior of the capacitor case with the anode terminal in electrical communication with the sintered portion, a cathode disposed in the capacitor case, a separator disposed between the cathode and the anode and a cathode terminal disposed on an exterior of the capacitor case and in electrical communication with the cathode, with the anode terminal and the cathode terminal electrically isolated from one another.