In-Line Quality Control of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrodes through Terahertz Scanning
Lookin, Inc.
Recipient
Los Angeles, CA
Recipient Location
30th
Senate District
54th
Assembly District
$529,695
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
Lookin, Inc. is developing a transformative solution for a currently unmet need in lithium-ion battery manufacturing: a high-throughput terahertz scanner for in-line quality control (QC) of LIB electrodes, which improves the manufacturing capability to deliver high-power batteries with better shelf life, increased safety, and lower cost, as well as decreased production lead time.
Terahertz (THz) waves offer unique functionalities for the QC of battery electrodes. They can penetrate through electrode coatings and provide 3D images of the battery electrodes. Despite these great promises, the low sensitivity and scanning speed of existing THz scanners have prevented their deployment. Lookin’s breakthrough THz scanner technology addresses the limitations of existing THz scanners by providing 1000 times higher sensitivity and scanning speed compared to the state-of-the-art, through a patented THz transceiver technology.
For 2025, Lookin plans to continue measurements on the battery samples fabricated at UCI facilities to enhance the data set and implement statistical methods to further improve the resolution and sensitivity of the terahertz scanner. The team also plans to complete the implementation of the new data acquisition system and reach higher scan rates. With a completed prototype projected for Q2 of 2025, Lookin plans to install and commission this technology in a real-world setting to demonstrate the viability and further enhance the product capabilities.
The Issue
There is a direct correlation between various defects introduced during the roll-to-roll lithium-ion battery (LIB) electrode manufacturing and the battery electrochemical performance. The defects introduced during electrode manufacturing diminish the performance of lithium-ion batteries by aggravating cycle efficiency, lowering discharge capacity, shortening the life span of the LIBs, and even worse, causing unexpected short circuits, which results in explosions. Therefore, the early identification of these defects through an efficient in-line quality control tool is crucial for reliable battery manufacturing.
Project Innovation
Lookin, Inc. proposes a transformative solution for a currently unmet need in lithium-ion battery manufacturing: a high-throughput terahertz scanner for in-line quality control of lithium-ion battery (LIB) electrodes, which improves manufacturing capability to deliver high power batteries with better shelf life, increased safety, lower cost, and decreased production lead-time. Terahertz waves offer unique functionalities for quality control of battery electrodes. The goal of this project is to develop a high-throughput and high-sensitivity terahertz scanner for in-line quality control of LIB electrodes to automatically detect defective LIB electrodes.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
By enabling high-throughput and high-accuracy detection of defects in lithium-ion battery electrodes at early stages of manufacturing, our terahertz scanner would reduce the fabrication cost by eliminating defective electrodes, while providing the highest level of performance and product reliability. This would eventually reduce the price and increase the reliability of electric vehicles. Efficient in-line quality control and early detection of the defects process would significantly reduce the cell rejection rate after fabrication and testing; thus, saving a significant amount of cost for battery manufacturers.
Affordability
Increasing early detection of defects in lithium ion battery production can help reduce overall cost of battery manufacturing, which may reduce costs of end-use applications.
Safety
Increasing early detection of battery defects also reduces the likelihood of defective batteries deploying to end-uses thereby increasing safe performance of battery systems.
Key Project Members
Dr. Nezih Tolga Yardimci
Prof. Mona Jarrahi
Prof. Iryna Zenyuk
Subrecipients
The Regents of the University of California on behalf of the Los Angeles Campus
University of California, Irvine
Match Partners
The Regents of the University of California on behalf of the Los Angeles Campus
University of California, Irvine
Lookin, Inc.
