Battery technology is evolving rapidly driven by demand from consumers and industry 4.0 for portable low power devices with ever greater functionality, manufacturers are under increasing pressure to create more compact, easy to integrate, long life, reliable and safe batteries. TDK is leading the field with CeraCharge™, the world’s first rechargeable solid-state SMD battery offering 1000 times the capacity of a capacitor in the same case size. The award-winning batteries are constructed with TDK’s advanced ceramic multilayer process know how using Lithium based ceramic oxides for the electrolyte and inner electrode. CeraCharge combines the advantages of a Li-ion battery with the safety and high volume, cost optimised manufacturing benefits of ceramic multilayer products.
Application Examples
CeraCharge construction cross-section
The solid-state all ceramic construction of CeraCharge means it cannot leak, burn or explode and is not subject to any airfreight transportation restrictions that apply to traditional Li-ion and Lithium metal batteries. In addition the robust construction and inherent safety means it is compatible with standard surface mount reflow soldering processes allowing the device to be attached directly to the PCB at the same time as other components, this is key to speeding up and simplifying the assembly process especially for high volume production.
Click below to view a brief video about the development of CeraCharge
The first CeraCharge device released to market by TDK is the B73180A0101M062 which is available in an industry standard 1812 package measuring 4.4mm x 3.0mm with a low profile height of just 1.1mm, this compact size allows it to be integrated into almost any device. The CeraCharge batteries have a nominal voltage of 1.5V, a nominal capacity of 100µAh and a wide operating temperature range of -20°C to +80°C. Depending on application usage this battery is able to perform more than 1000 charge/discharge cycles and, after that, more than 80% of its capacity is still available. It is also capable of delivering currents in the order of several mA for short periods.
To increase voltage and capacity to suit different application needs, virtually any number of the CeraCharge batteries can be connected in parallel or in series. When connected in this way they do not require an integrated battery protection circuit that would normally be needed with traditional Li-ion batteries or complicated cell balancing circuits typically required with supercapacitor arrays, helping to reduce costs even further.
CeraCharge Application examples
A typical application for CeraCharge is an IoT beacon device that is designed to collect and broadcast data from a sensor. Beacons can be deployed in locations where a power source is not readily available or using a non-rechargeable battery is not practical due to the need to replace it at intervals, instead these beacons will often utilise energy harvesting technologies such as solar cells or similar. CeraCharge can be used to store and then deliver this harvested energy in the same way a traditional rechargeable battery would, its high number of charge and discharge cycles means it can do this reliably over long periods of time.
Block diagram example of Beacon using energy harvesting and CeraCharge
Another application example is in Real-time clocks (RTC), today RTC’s typically use a non-rechargeable lithium coin cell, in the example below this has be substituted with a CeraCharge battery that can be charged in situ to remove the need for replacement of the lithium coin cell.
CeraCharge can be used as the primary power source or as a sub-battery in a wide range of applications including wearable leisure and health monitors, RTC battery backup, smart sensors, IoT and Industrial IoT devices and systems that are deployed in production facilities, building management, machines, transport, healthcare and many other applications.
CeraCharge Sample Kit
Anglia are offering customers a FREE sample kit of the CeraCharge solid-state SMD rechargeable battery from TDK, please fill in the form below to register your interest now.
FREE samples for UK and Ireland customers only, subject to availability.
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