Ionic Motion in Materials with Disordered Structures
Ion Transport and Interfacial Reaction of Amorphous Alkali-Borate Films
Solid ion conductors are a critical component in modern solid state batteries or thin film chemical sensors. The
limited ion counductivity of solid systems may be compensated by using thin films of a few tens of nanometers
thickness only. However, due to this small dimension such systems are rather fragile which hinders their
application. In the project, the possiblilities to produce thin Alkali-Borate and -silicate films by ion beam
sputtering have been explored. It is possible to produce conductive films down to about 50 nm
thickness. The sputtered films are distinguished by an increased conductivity compared to massive glasses.
However they undergo a thermal relaxation at about 350oC leading to a significant decrease in
conductivity. Now the project is aimed at understanding this behaviour by detecting the structural
transformations underlying this relaxation.
