ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the use of laser-based material processing techniques, such as pulsed laser deposition (PLD), laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT), and material processing via three-dimentional laser structuring (LS) and laser annealing (LA) techniques for energy storage applications. It also reviews the recent work using these laser processing techniques for the fabrication of micropower sources and lessons learned from the characterization of their electrochemical properties. The chapter shows that laser processing techniques are ideally suited to prototype and fabricate these types of electrochemical energy storage components for hybrid micropower systems. It discusses PLD techniques for thin-film microbatteries, LIFT techniques for ultracapacitors and thick-film microbatteries, LA for controlling the grain size and crystalline phase of thin-film electrodes, and LS processes for modifying active electrode materials for Lithium ion microbatteries. The chapter concludes with a discussion of challenges and future directions offered by the use of lasers to develop the next generation of microbatteries.
