Low energy ion beam assisted deposition of controllable solid state electrolyte LiPON with increased mechanical properties and ionic conductivity

•LiPON electrolyte films were prepared by IBAD.•When FN2:FAr = 1:8, N atomic percentage attains a highest value of 2.32%.•The highest N content contributes the highest hardness and the lowest stress.•There is consistent variation in mechanical properties and ionic conductivities.•The highest ionic conductivity of 4.5 × 10−6 S/cm is achieved at FN2:FAr = 1:8.

Lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) solid state amorphous film electrolytes were synthesized by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) using Li3PO4 target under nitrogen reactive plasma. IBAD presents an advantage of controllable nitrogen content of the films by adjusting N2 and Ar flow ratio. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), nanoindenter, and profiler were employed to characterize LiPON films. Our results indicate that the film at N2 and Ar flow ratio of 1:8 showed the best surface morphology and mechanical properties. The highest N atomic percentage of 2.32% was also obtained at this synthesis circumstance, and the resultant LiPON film electrolyte showed higher ionic conductivity of 4.5 × 10−6 S/cm at room temperature, as well as the highest hardness of 6.8 GPa and the lowest compressive stress of 147.2 MPa. It is believed that as-prepared LiPON solid state electrolyte film optimized can effectively prevent delamination from electrodes, showing some promising application in thin film lithium ion batteries.