Agreement between the two companies
provides ST with access to Front Edge Technology’s ultra-thin
rechargeable battery technology.
STMicroelectronics has announced a
commercial agreement with Front-Edge Technology (FET) enabling ST to
bring FET’s NanoEnergy ultra-thin lithium battery technology to a wide
range of new markets and applications.
This new technology is
meant to fill the gap created by conventional energy-storage devices
not keeping pace with the demanding size and high-density power
requirements of today’s cutting-edge electronic devices. The new
devices, which are destined for consumer and industrial markets, demand
innovative energy-storage and battery technologies. Solid-state
thin-film energy cells offer a revolutionary way of storing energy for
‘micro-power’ devices, such as high-end ‘One-Time-Password’ smartcards;
battery-assisted RFID (Radio-Frequency ID) tags; wireless sensor
networks; real-time clock (RTC) back-up batteries; and multiple medical
applications, including hearing aids, automatic insulin pumps and
wearable health monitoring systems.
A key advantage of the
ultra-thin solid-state battery technology is its physical flexibility,
enabling different sizes and shapes of ‘bendable’ batteries, as thin as
200 microns, making it ideal for portable and extremely small form
factor devices. Additionally, the battery’s solid electrolyte is
Lithium Phosphorus Oxynitride (LiPON), a material originally developed
by Oak Ridge National Laboratories. This enables the thin-film FET
technology, in comparison with a device with equivalent energy storage
capacity, to deliver in the range of 10 to 20 times more power than
existing state-of-the-art coin-cell batteries.
FET’s
solid-state micro-batteries have been shown to offer longer life,
short-circuit prevention for greater safety, and a lower environmental
burden than existing battery technologies. Other key characteristics of
the FET technology include long cycle life, with more than 1,000 cycles
at 50% discharge; fast current charge enabling batteries to be charged
to 80% of rated capacity within 15 minutes; and high stability, with a
low self-discharge of less than 15% per year.
ST is making
significant investments in new energy technologies and nano-materials
to develop new miniaturized solutions for energy storage and deliver
with a particular emphasis on powering portable electronic products.
The R&D group of ST’s Industrial and Multisegment Sector (IMS)
organization has been working for several years developing know-how and
expertise in the field of micro-batteries and micro fuel cells, and has
research teams based in Tours, France, and Catania, Italy, working with
research institutes in both those countries.
www.st.comwww.frontedgetechnology.com
