Pulsed laser ablation of a ceramic electrolyte for all-solid-state batteries

Ion-conducting ceramics are considered to be promising materials for separator layers and hosts for cathode materials in all-solid-state batteries. While most research is dedicated to the electrochemical performance of such ceramics, literature discussing their industrial processability is scarce. Within this work, the laser ablation of the ceramic solid electrolyte Li1+xAlxTi2-x(PO4)3 (LATP) was studied experimentally using short and ultrashort laser pulses. The ablation efficiencies and the ablation rates were compared for nanosecond and picosecond pulse durations. Additionally, the impact of MHz pulse bursts with up to 5 pulses was investigated. The surface quality was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy showing melt formation at high fluences, especially when applying pulse bursts. The different process regimes are discussed regarding an implementation for structuring and cutting in all-solid-state battery production.