Batteries Not Included

With the Christmas season approaching, what could be more topical than batteries. I'll admit I haven't given much thought to the technologies involved in battery manufacturing or engineering. The fact is, little has really changed since Alessandro Volta first piled up brine-soaked cardboard sheets. All common batteries are based on the same principals. However, there are some groundbreaking new technologies worth watching.

Much work has been done to develop micro fuel cells, and commercialization is certainly near (I wonder if we'll be able to carry small, potentially explosive fuel cells on airplanes?). The energy density capabilities of micro fuel cells is certainly staggering. Imagine your laptop running for ten times as long as it does on its lithium ion battery, without increasing the bulk. Then imagine recharging it almost instantly, without requiring an electrical outlet; just a simple refill of methane (and who among us doesn't have plenty of methane?).

There is another form of battery under development called a thin-film solid polymer battery. This battery is effectively a multi-layer buildup of cathode, electrolyte, and anode. If you were to look at this example illustration, you would see that it looks strikingly like many semiconductor packaging solutions in use today. Could it be that just as most of the industry is starting to get its collective mind around buried passives, it'll be asked to start dealing with buried actives in the form of batteries?

This technology certainly lends itself to integration with current PCB and packaging manufacturing technologies. Companies like Cymbet Corp. are already working to integrate this technology into devices like active RFID tags, and even directly into semiconductors.


For an interesting twist on the old concept of battries, see Urine Powered Battery.