A research team led by Prof. HU Weijin from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with partners, has developed a one-second fabrication method for wafer-scale energy storage capacitors that achieves astonishing heating and cooling rates of up to 1,000 °C per second.
The work, published on November 15 in Science Advances, introduces a rapid "flash annealing" technique and opens a new avenue for manufacturing the next generation of high-performance energy storage capacitors.
Dielectric energy storage capacitors play an indispensable role in critical power electronic devices, from pulsed lasers to electric vehicles, because they can charge and discharge rapidly while enduring extreme operating conditions. However, scientists have long grappled with the fundamental challenge of developing capacitors that can deliver high energy storage capacity, endure extreme temperatures under both severe heat and intense cold, and remain suitable for mass production.
Traditional fabrication methods often rely on chemical doping, multi-phase composition, or the deliberate introduction of structural defects to engineer materials with specific microstructures. These processes are complex and time-consuming, hindering the scalable production of high-performance dielectric films.
The new "flash annealing" method overcomes these limitations by achieving heating and cooling rates of up to 1,000°C per second, enabling the synthesis of a relaxor antiferroelectric lead zirconate film on a silicon wafer in just one second.
So, what is the magic behind this one-second "ice-fire" forge?
According to the researchers, this technique effectively "freezes" the material's high-temperature paraelectric phase structure at room temperature, creating nanodomains smaller than three nanometers. These tiny structures act like an intricate maze, which is key to triggering high-performance relaxor antiferroelectric behavior and enabling highly efficient energy storage. At the same time, the flash annealing process yields a denser, more uniform film texture and effectively suppresses the evaporation of volatile lead elements.
Together, these enhancements enable the film to withstand extremely high electric fields while achieving strong polarization, ultimately boosting the energy storage density of the capacitor to 63.5 J/cm³.
Even more impressive is the outstanding thermal stability demonstrated by capacitors produced with this method. Tests show that after thermal cycling from the extreme cold of -196 °C (liquid nitrogen temperature) to scorching temperatures up to 400 °C, the degradation in energy storage density and efficiency remains minimal-below 3%. Thus, the capacitor can operate reliably in environments ranging from the icy void of outer space to the high-temperature conditions of an underground oil exploration well.
Furthermore, this technology is simple to implement and scalable. The team has already produced uniform, high-performance films on two-inch silicon wafers, offering a viable industrial pathway toward chip-integrated energy storage solutions.
Rational design principles of relaxor antiferroelectric materials. A. Temperature-dependent dielectric permittivity (εr) of an antiferroelectric (AFE) material, with schematic domain structures illustrate at different temperatures; B. The experimental setup for flash heating and flash cooling (FHC), capable of achieving rates up to 1000 °C/s, enabling the synthesis of relaxor AFE films in just one second; C. Comparison of various heat treatment protocols, with treatment times ranging from under 1 second for FHC to over 1000 seconds for conventional annealing (CA); D. P-E hysteresis loops of PbZrO3 films subjected to various annealing processes. The inset shows a 2-inch wafer-scale relaxor AFE film fabricated via FHC. (Image by IMR)
