LInspector Edge In-line Mass Profilometer Applications

Achieving electrode coating weight targets of a cell product design determine many critical performance and safety characteristics of a finished battery cell. Failure to optimize coating uniformity can result in excessive waste and lowered energy capacity, resulting in potentially unsafe battery cells. The LInspector Edge In-line Mass Profilometer enables inspection of 100% of the entire electrode, providing information-rich data on electrode coating uniformity. It is a valuable tool that enables battery research and development teams to optimize coating materials and coating equipment controls. This improved understanding and measurement capability helps engineering teams in process development towards increased quality and yield, which in turn influences equipment mechanical design and optimization.

Pilot scale manufacturing is designed to produce small quantities of battery cells for testing and validation prior to mass production. It is critical for researchers and process engineers to understand the mass loading distribution of electrodes to improve the quality and performance of their product and process. LInspector Edge In-line Mass Profilometer is the first analyzer to measure 100% of the coated electrode to accelerate development and improve yields.  With 1000X more mass loading uniformity data available in real-time, this technology enhances process understanding, accelerates scale-up of next generation materials and enables production of higher performance batteries, confidently and cost-efficiently.

As the demand for lithium-ion batteries continue to rise in response to clean energy initiatives, battery manufacturers face the challenge of increasing throughput while reducing scrap material. In electrode coating production, coating uniformity is critical to the performance, reliability, and safety of finished battery cells. LInspector Edge In-line Mass Profilometer is a breakthrough in technology and performance for coating uniformity control and faster detection of electrode loading defects, providing a thorough analysis of the electrode coating process, and ensuring traceability of the entire roll. While current metrology methods only measure 2-4% of the electrode,  LInspector Edge In-line Mass Profilometer measures 100% of the coated electrode in real-time. Complete edge-to-edge loading uniformity profile data is collected at a millisecond rate, providing insights and traceability not previously achievable. Rich data collected in real-time helps assure that batteries meet high quality specifications and enables optimization of production yield.