Pulsed Laser Deposition and Characterization of Crystalline Lithium Cobalt Dioxide (LiCoO[sub 2]) Thin Films

The pulsed laser deposition of and thin films was investigated as a function of deposition conditions. The initial growth process optimization focused on films grown on (200)-textured -coated glass substrates. Film growth was also investigated on ZnO and indium-tin oxide (ITO) coated substrates. For both and dense uniaxially textured (003)-oriented films of the layered phase were grown on the coated substrates. The grain size increased substantially with increased substrate temperature in the range from 400 to 700°C. For constant current cycling between 3.5 and 4.4 V vs. Li, the best crystalline films, grown at had an initial discharge capacity of ∼118 mAh/g (0.43 Li/Co) which decreased ∼0.5% per cycle. For although, as predicted, the films did have a higher cathode potential, the charge capacity was significantly lower than that for films. Finally, functional thin film cathodes were grown on flexible ITO-coated Upilex polymer substrates at © 2001 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.