Cell & Pack Manufacturing

QA/QC Technologies - High Resolution Electrode Inspection In-Line

Grain size, arrangement and uniformity

Surface roughness

AI/ML Engine

Agglomerations: Causes defects in coating, leads to scrap. Larger Grains: Enables uniform lithium deposition, reduces dendrite formation → Improves safety. Grain Arrangements: Helps ionic and electronic pathways, improves tortuosity. Uniform Grain Size: Boosts energy/power density; non-uniformity causes stress, cracks, and degradation. Defects & Voids: Increases resistance, weakens structure → Reduce efficiency and long-term performance. Read the papers linked below to find out more

13 micron resolution

Can operate at film speed

Takes 50+ images/sec

Lighting system to enable 3 directional observations

Instant image processing

Identifies and measures each image feature

Provider example:

Sources: PDF Solutions, High-Potential Failure Analysis, Sotto; Detecting the foreign matter defect in lithium-ion batteries[...], Pan et al.; The Impact of Li Grain Size on Coulombic Efficiency in Li Batteries, Mehdi et al.; Particle size and zeta potential of electrode materials: better characterization, better performance, Anton Paar; Balancing particle properties for practical lithium-ion batteries, Zhang et al.; Effect of the grain arrangements on the thermal stability of polycrystalline nickel-rich lithium-based battery cathodes, Hou; Identifying the Origins of Microstructural Defects Such as Cracking within Ni-Rich NMC811 Cathode Particles for Lithium-Ion Batteries, Heenan et al.; The influence of void space on ion transport in a composite cathode for all-solid-state batteries, Hlushkou et al.; Probing the particle size dependence of nonhomogeneous degradation in nickel-rich cathodes for high-energy lithium-ion batteries, Song et al.

FORMATION/AGING

Defect progression (cracks, fractures)

Optical Hardware

FILLING

Voids in electrode structure

Contamination: Causes fast battery degradation and internal short circuit (ISC), leads to battery failure.

HOW IS IT DONE? - EXAMPLE METHOD

WINDING/STACKING

Agglomerations and contamination

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO CAPTURE THEM?

SLITTING/NOTCHING

WHAT ARE THE FEATURES?

electrode microstructure, more than pretty pictures

CALENDARING

In the past, electrode morphology has been key in R&D. But, not in manufacturing, largely due to micron level in-line inspection being nearly impossible. Now, manufacturers are recognizing the importance of in-line electrode inspection, due to its impact on cell quality, and exciting solutions are entering the market. Letʼs dive into why this is important and how itʼs done.

EOL

Extracted from the PDF; charts and images may read imperfectly.