Effects of Ag doping and annealing on the charge–discharge characteristics of Al0.6Si0.4 thin film anode

• Resistivity of thin film was lowered as well as that of graphite by annealing.
• We found the appropriate composition of Al–Si system, Al0.6Si0.4.
• Modified Al0.6Si0.4 performed well at 55 °C, the critical value phones can work at.
• The research on the Li-ion batteries at higher temperatures still lacks so far.
• The reasons why ternary anode didn't act commendably were discussed.

Al and Si-based intermetallic alloys are considered as attractive anode materials for lithium ion batteries due to their ultra-high theoretical capacities. In this study, we adopted radio frequency magnetron sputtering to deposit a 400-nm-Al0.6Si0.4/40-nm-Al bilayer thin film anode. The effects of Ag doping and vacuum annealing on the charge–discharge characteristics of the prepared binary and ternary alloys were analyzed. It was observed that Ag doping significantly improved the electrical conductivity. The resistivities of the as-deposited and annealed samples were determined using a four-point probe method. The relationship between cycling performances and the electrochemical characteristics of the Al1 − x − ySixAgy thin film anodes was investigated via cyclic voltammetry and alternating-current electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.