Lithium Phosphate Li3PO4 - Sputtering Target - Material Information

Lithium phosphate (Li₃PO₄) sputtering targets are essential materials for advanced thin-film technology, particularly in solid-state battery electrolytes and microelectronics. This ceramic compound enables high-quality lithium-containing film deposition through physical vapor deposition, offering exceptional ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability for next-generation energy storage devices.

Material Overview

Li₃PO₄ is a stoichiometric lithium orthophosphate ceramic used as a sputtering source. When sputtered in inert atmospheres, it produces amorphous Li₃PO₄ films; reactive sputtering in nitrogen creates lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) films with enhanced properties [1]. The material exhibits room-temperature ionic conductivity from 1 × 10⁻⁶ to 6.5 × 10⁻⁶ S·cm⁻¹ for optimized films [2][3]. Films demonstrate remarkably low electronic conductivity (~2.2 × 10⁻¹² S·cm⁻¹), wide optical bandgaps (≥3 eV), and electrochemical stability windows of 0 to 4.7 V versus Li/Li⁺ [4][5].

Applications and Advantages

Li₃PO₄ targets are the standard for fabricating solid electrolytes in all-solid-state thin-film lithium batteries, enabling stable cycling in microbattery configurations [6][7]. The material serves in microelectronics for transparent conductive layers and electrochromic devices, leveraging high UV-visible transmission (>75%) [3]. Li₃PO₄ films also function as protective coatings suppressing solid-electrolyte interphase formation on silicon anodes, improving battery performance [8]. Process parameters including nitrogen partial pressure, RF power, and substrate bias allow precise tuning of ionic conductivity for specific applications.

Goodfellow Availability

Goodfellow supplies high-purity lithium phosphate sputtering targets engineered for demanding thin-film deposition. Custom dimensions are available to accommodate various sputtering systems and research requirements.

Explore Li₃PO₄ sputtering targets and other advanced materials in Goodfellow's online catalogue: Goodfellow product finder.

References

• [1] Ohnishi, T., & Takada, K. (2022). Sputter-deposited amorphous Li₃PO₄ solid electrolyte films. ACS Omega. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c02104
• [2] Li, L., Xue, X., Liu, S., et al. (2017). Thermally activated ionic conduction and local structure in solid LiPON thin films. Ionics. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11581-016-1963-Z
• [3] Su, Y. R., Falgenhauer, J. C., Lupo, C., et al. (2015). Electrical and optical properties of lithium phosphorous oxynitride electrolyte thin films with high nitrogen content. Meeting Abstracts. https://doi.org/10.1149/ma2015-01/1/103
• [4] Kuwata, N., Iwagami, N., Tanji, Y., et al. (2010). Characterization of thin-film lithium batteries with stable thin-film Li₃PO₄ solid electrolytes. Journal of The Electrochemical Society. https://doi.org/10.1149/1.3306339
• [5] Kuwata, N., Iwagami, N., Matsuda, Y., et al. (2009). Thin film batteries with Li₃PO₄ solid electrolyte fabricated by pulsed laser deposition. https://doi.org/10.1149/1.3111821
• [6] Kamenetskikh, A., Gavrilov, N. V., Ershov, A., et al. (2023). Effect of Li₃PO₄ vapor dissociation on ionic conductivity of LiPON thin films. Membranes. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13100847
• [7] Famprikis, T., et al. (2019). Composition dependence of ionic conductivity in LiSiPO(N) thin-film electrolytes. https://doi.org/10.1021/ACSAEM.9B00415
• [8] Xie, J., Oudenhoven, J. F. M., Harks, P. P. R. M. L., et al. (2015). Chemical vapor deposition of lithium phosphate thin-films for 3D all-solid-state Li-ion batteries. Journal of The Electrochemical Society. https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0091503JES