Si-Zr alloy thin-film anodes for microbatteries

Zr-Si thin films were deposited on copper substrates by co-sputtering method of two pure targets. The structure and surface morphology of the films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The composition was measured by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The electrochemical results showed that alloying with Zr improves the cycling performance, while as a result the reversible capacity decreases. It appears that the electrochemical cycling performance can be further improved by controlling the film deposition conditions such as substrate temperature and bias sputtering. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.