Abstract:
Improvements in design and manufacturing techniques to produce a graphene based prismatic supercapacitor of very high capacitance with very high energy density storage able to outperform and replace the cutting edge batteries available in the market today.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/340,119 filed May 23, 2016 entitled GRAPHENE SUPERCAPACITOR DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in the entirety. 
     
    
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention is related to improvements in design and manufacturing techniques to produce a graphene based prismatic supercapacitor of very high capacitance with very high energy density storage able to outperform and replace the cutting edge batteries available in the market today. 
       Background 
       [0005]    Graphene and other nano technology carbon based materials have attracted a lot of attention recently in a lot of areas. Specifically, in battery and capacitor technology, they provide a means to produce cheap conductors of very high conductance that dramatically increase surface area available for electrostatic charge accumulation in a supercapacitor. 
         [0006]    Many research lines are seeking ways to further improve surface area, energy density and power density with promising results. Once fully developed into a mature technology, graphene supercapacitors offer the promise of affordable, clean and recyclable devices able to vastly outperform the best batteries available in the market today. To achieve that goal though, there are still many aspects of the design and manufacturing of supercapacitors that need improvement. 
       Prior Art 
       [0007]    There have been many approaches to the construction of carbon based supercapacitors. The basic concept is very straightforward. Two carbon based electrodes are put in contact with a suitable electrolyte that accumulates charge via an electrostatic process. The advantage of using carbon is that this is a cheap, readily available material that is extremely versatile and can be made into electrodes with very high surface area relatively easily. Furthermore, carbon remains stable when subjected to a wide range of electrolytes allowing for a wider range of options in design. 
         [0008]    Activated carbon, graphene, carbon nanotubes and other carbon based materials have been tried and results have been presented by several individuals and research institutions. So far most reports seem to indicate that for a given electrolyte, reducing the size of the electrodes so that a higher number of electrodes can fit into a given volume increases the energy density of the device and increasing the surface area for a given electrode size increases the power density. 
         [0009]    As a result, activated carbon has been proposed as a convenient material since it has a very high surface area with respect to its volume and is very cheap to obtain and use. Activated carbon has the disadvantage though of being harder to morph into small consistent electrodes that will remain stable during the lifetime of the device. Graphene offers the advantage of potentially higher surface area with respect to volume and the possibility of producing very small electrodes. However, graphene is more expensive to produce and more complicated to manipulate than activated carbon. 
         [0010]    There are many companies already manufacturing carbon based supercapacitors that offer good performance for specific applications. However, until now the commercial devices have been unable to deliver sufficient energy and power densities at an affordable price to be considered for replacement of the cutting edge lithium ion batteries available in the market. 
         [0011]    The main reason for the unsatisfactory performance is the construction design used by most existing supercapacitors that are constructed using a stack of pairs of solid plates made of carbon (graphene, activated carbon, etc.), each plate producing an electrode. Each pair of plate electrodes is separated by an insulator to prevent short circuits should the plates touch. This design relies solely on the high surface area an individual plate has due to the nature of the carbon electrode that is a function of the plate area. Limitations regarding the structural strength of the plates require them to have a minimum thickness and the need of an insulator sheet between each pair of plate electrodes further limits the total surface area that is made available for a given volume (mass) resulting in poor energy density. 
         [0012]    The technology is advancing at a rapid pace and it is reasonable to assume that in the near future supercapacitors will improve to the point that they will displace batteries in a very wide range of applications. Improved manufacturing techniques using activated carbon, graphene or other materials such as carbon nanotubes or mixtures of more than one type of material may in the future provide a better compromise for energy density, power density and cost. 
       Advantages 
       [0013]    The proposed invention has been designed considering multiple aspects of the production of a graphene or activated carbon supercapacitor and offers the following advantages: 
         [0014]    1) Massive increase in available surface area of the electrodes by morphing them into lines with very small width and relatively high height separated by very small gaps instead of a simple solid plate resulting in high specific capacitance; 
         [0015]    2) Increase in energy density by allowing the reliable construction of the electrodes using thin substrates; 
         [0016]    3) Increase in power density by using large terminals and avoiding damage to the microstructure of the electrodes sometimes caused by steps of other unperfected manufacturing processes; 
         [0017]    4) Simplification of the manufacturing process, allowing the electrodes and electrolyte to be printed even at very small sizes; 
         [0018]    5) Simplification of the packaging, allowing the several printed sheets that constitute a particular device to be simply stacked and encased in a simple process that does not require high precision positioning nor delicate tasks; 
         [0019]    6) Significant cost reduction in the production of the devices; and 
         [0020]    7) Enable the use of special inks made of graphene, activated carbon, carbon nanotubes or a mixture of two or more of these components or other materials that may be determined in the future to be advantageous to use. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0021]    One object and advantage of the proposed invention is the printing of the supercapacitor individual elements in suitable sheets so that these sheets can be easily stacked saving time and money in the assembly process. 
         [0022]    Another object and advantage of the proposed invention is innovative nanolinear patterns and shapes that may be printed or formed using other manufacturing processes to produce individual elements of the supercapacitor that provide improvements in attainable capacitance, improvements in attainable energy density, improvements in attainable power density, improvements in electrical insulation or maximum break down voltage, improvements in charge and discharge performance, improvements in mechanical resistance to shock and improvements in the device useful life. 
         [0023]    Another object and advantage of the proposed invention is the manufacturing process that allows existing printing equipment normally used to produce printed plastic films for packaging or similar applications to print the nanolinear patterns and shapes necessary to produce a supercapacitor. The existing printing equipment maximum resolution is typically 5 microns or more, meaning that features smaller than that cannot be reliably printed. The manufacturing method of the present invention, combined with the proposed nanolinear patterns and shapes allows the existing printing equipment to be tuned so that it can print reliably and cheaply features smaller than 5 microns, reaching 1 micron or less. 
         [0024]    Another object and advantage of the proposed invention is a manufacturing process using photoresist that allows affordable and reliable printing of even smaller electrodes than the printing process can produce. The photoresist process can achieve a consistent resolution of 50 nanometers producing electrodes that are sufficiently precise and uniform to achieve high energy densities at the same time avoiding short circuits or performance degradation of the assembled device due to non-uniformities among the several individual sheets used in its construction. 
         [0025]    Another object and advantage of the proposed invention is the possibility to use special inks composed of graphene, graphene oxide, activated carbon, carbon nanotubes or a mixture of two or more of these components or other components that may be determined in the future to be advantageous to use. 
         [0026]    Another object and advantage of the present invention is the containment process used in the printing process that uses high viscosity inks that are cured with ultraviolet light or heat to print the small features of the nanolinear patterns and shapes of the present invention along the direction of printing. As all small printed lines within the nanolinear patterns are parallel to the direction of printing, the viscous ink will preferable flow in the direction of printing and eventual spills combine into the same line being printed. Ultraviolet light or heat can be used to quickly dry the ink that has just been deposited into the substrate avoiding spills perpendicular to the direction of printing that would cause parallel lines to touch producing short circuits. 
         [0027]    Another object and advantage of the present invention is the containment process used in a photoresist process that is suitable for printing at nanometer scales where high viscosity inks do not produce a good result. The ink is applied during the printing process into gaps left by removed areas of the photoresist. The ink cannot fill the spaces still covered by the photoresist that work as barriers to the coating of the ink on the substrate or element sheet. As a result, the ink can be made with tiny particles using a hinder of low viscosity or may be made with a binder that will not harden unless submitted to a suitable curing process. This allows the ink to reach all spots intended to be covered without the risk of leaks or spills that could lead to short circuits. The ink can be submitted to a curing process or left to dry on its own before the physical barrier of the photoresist is removed so that the electrolyte can be applied or deposited only in the areas previously occupied by the photoresist. 
         [0028]    Another object and advantage of the proposed invention is the manufacturing process that allows the affordable and reliable assembly of sheets printed using the printing or photoresist process into stacks and then into devices with the desired electric characteristics. 
         [0029]    Another object and advantage of the present invention is the creation of electrical contact points along the edges of each substrate or element sheet to enable conductivity simply by stacking the sheets. 
         [0030]    Another object and advantage of the present invention is an increase in the number of capacitors within a given area through the formation physical barriers that contain and provide for increases in the thickness of the graphene ink thereby increasing the surface area of the electrodes. 
         [0031]    The present invention is related to a manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors having increased energy density, comprising perforating a series of orifices on an element sheet; layering the element sheet with photoresist on one or both sides; exposing portions of the photoresist to a light source to remove these portions from the element sheet; printing graphene ink within the remaining portions of the photoresist and through the orifices; printing graphene ink on both sides of the element sheet filling the orifices to create terminals that have a larger size as compared to the remaining portions and to connect both sides of the element sheet; removing remaining portions of photoresist thereby leaving a pattern design; printing electrolyte within the pattern design; and wherein the pattern design forming electrodes having minimal spacing between gaps to increase the energy density within the supercapacitor. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors wherein the minimal gaps between the printed electrodes is less than five microns. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors wherein the minimal gaps between the printed electrodes is between one hundred nano meters to two microns. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors comprising increasing the thickness of the photoresist to increase the depth of the graphene ink layer and the electrolyte layer thereby increasing the energy density of the supercapacitor. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors comprising replacing the graphene ink by an ink composed of a mixture selected from the group consisting of graphene, carbon nanotubes and activated carbon to increase the physical properties of the electrodes by increasing the number of pores into the electrodes thereby increasing the available surface area of the printed electrode and thereby increasing the capacitance and the energy density of the supercapacitor. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors comprising a pattern design having physical barriers that extend linearly in the direction of printing. The supercapacitor produced by the process of manufacturing. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors comprising a pattern design that maximizes the number of individual capacitors that can be printed within the element sheet. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors comprising individual capacitors connected in parallel. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors comprising individual capacitors connected in series. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors comprising individual capacitors connected in series and parallel. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors comprising a pattern design comprising individual fringes of the electrode terminating in a curved end with a matching curved contour on an adjacent electrode. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors comprising stacking element sheets in parallel to increase the capacitance and the current of the supercapacitor. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors comprising stacking element sheets in series to increase the voltage of the supercapacitor. The manufacturing process for the production of supercapacitors comprising stacking element sheets in series and parallel to increase the voltage, capacitance and current of the supercapacitor. The present invention is further related to an increased energy density supercapacitor, comprising a pattern design developed using a photoresist process; graphene ink printed within the pattern design; electrolyte printed within and covering the pattern design; and wherein the individual capacitors dimensions are reduced to fit more capacitors within a given area to form an increased energy density supercapacitor. The increased energy density supercapacitor wherein the minimal dimension of a line of graphene ink printed is less than 5 microns. The increased energy density supercapacitor wherein the minimal dimension of a line of graphene ink printed is between one hundred nano meters and two microns. The increased energy density supercapacitor wherein the supercapacitor may be stacked in parallel to increase capacitance and current. The increased energy density supercapacitor wherein the supercapacitor may be stacked in series to increase voltage. The increased energy density supercapacitor of claim wherein the supercapacitor may be stacked in series and parallel to increase voltage, capacitance and current. The increased energy density supercapacitor wherein the graphene ink is replaced by an ink composed of a mixture selected from the group consisting of graphene, carbon nanotubes and activated carbon to increase the physical properties of the electrodes by increasing the number of pores into the electrodes thereby increasing the available surface area of the printed electrode and thereby increasing the capacitance and the energy density of the supercapacitor. 
         [0032]    The present invention is further related to a manufacturing process for the production of thin line supercapacitors having increased energy density, comprising perforating a series of orifices on an element sheet; printing graphene ink on both sides of the element sheet filling the orifices to create terminals that connect both sides of the element sheet; printing graphene ink in a plurality of thin lines perpendicular to the terminals and along the direction of printing; printing electrolyte within the plurality of thin lines; and forming electrodes having minimal spacing between gaps to increase the energy density within the supercapacitors. The manufacturing process for the production of thin line supercapacitors wherein the minimal gaps between printed features is less than ten microns. The manufacturing process for the production of thin line supercapacitors wherein the minimal gaps between printed features is between two hundred nano meters and ten microns. The manufacturing process for the production of thin line supercapacitors comprising printing short thin lines that are in parallel to the plurality of thin lines and that do not connect to the terminals thereby creating additional capacitors in series to increase voltage. The manufacturing process for the production of thin line supercapacitors comprising replacing the graphene ink by an ink composed of a mixture selected from the group consisting of graphene, carbon nanotubes and activated carbon to increase the physical properties of the electrodes by increasing the number of pores into the electrodes thereby increasing the available surface area of the printed electrode and thereby increasing the capacitance and the energy density of the supercapacitor. The supercapacitor produced by the manufacturing process. The manufacturing process for the production of thin line supercapacitors comprising a pattern design formed from the plurality of thin lines that maximizes the number of individual capacitors that can be printed within the element sheet. The manufacturing process for the production of thin line supercapacitors comprising individual capacitors connected in parallel. The manufacturing process for the production of thin line supercapacitors comprising individual capacitors connected in series. The manufacturing process for the production of thin line supercapacitors comprising the individual capacitors connected in series and parallel. The manufacturing process for the production of thin line supercapacitors comprising stacking element sheets in parallel to increase the capacitance and the current of the supercapacitor. The manufacturing process for the production of thin line supercapacitors comprising stacking element sheets in series to increase the voltage of the supercapacitor. The manufacturing process for the production of thin line supercapacitors comprising stacking element sheets in series and parallel to increase the voltage, capacitance and current of the supercapacitor. 
         [0033]    These and other features, advantages and improvements according to this invention will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS—FIGURES 
         [0034]    Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein: 
           [0000]    
         
           
                 
                 
                 
               
                 
                 
                 
               
             
                 
                     
                 
                 
                   FIG. 
                   Description 
                   Drawing # 
                 
                 
                     
                 
               
               
                 
                     
                 
               
            
             
                 
                    1 
                   Element sheet with perforations for parallel construc- 
                   1 
                 
                 
                     
                   tion top view 
                 
                 
                    1A 
                   Element sheet with perforations for parallel construc- 
                   1 
                 
                 
                     
                   tion side view 
                 
                 
                    2 
                   Element sheet with perforations for series construc- 
                   1 
                 
                 
                     
                   tion top view 
                 
                 
                    2A 
                   Element sheet with perforations for series construc- 
                   1 
                 
                 
                     
                   tion side view 
                 
                 
                    3 
                   Perforation formation method of the element sheet 
                   2 
                 
                 
                    4 
                   Photoresist applied to parallel sheet 
                   3 
                 
                 
                    5 
                   Image projected into photoresist 
                   4 
                 
                 
                    6 
                   Manufacturing method to project image into 
                   5 
                 
                 
                     
                   photoresist 
                 
                 
                    7 
                   Image imprinted into top layer photoresist 
                   6 
                 
                 
                    7A 
                   Detail view of photoresist top layer with imprinted 
                   6 
                 
                 
                     
                   image 
                 
                 
                    8 
                   Photoresist top layer developed areas removed 
                   7 
                 
                 
                    8A 
                   Detail view of photoresist top layer with developed 
                   7 
                 
                 
                     
                   areas removed 
                 
                 
                    9 
                   Photoresist bottom layer with developed areas removed 
                   8 
                 
                 
                   10 
                   Ink applied into photoresist top layer removed areas 
                   9 
                 
                 
                   10A 
                   Detail view of ink applied into photoresist top layer 
                   9 
                 
                 
                     
                   removed areas 
                 
                 
                   11 
                   Ink overflow causing short circuits 
                   10 
                 
                 
                   12 
                   Polishing process to remove ink overflow 
                   11 
                 
                 
                   13 
                   Resulting printed features into element sheet after 
                   12 
                 
                 
                     
                   all photoresist removed 
                 
                 
                   13A 
                   Detail of printed features 
                   12 
                 
                 
                   14 
                   Electrolyte and glue applied to element sheet 
                   13 
                 
                 
                   15 
                   Printed nanolinear pattern for a full parallel element 
                   14 
                 
                 
                     
                   top view 
                 
                 
                   15A 
                   Printed nanolinear pattern for a full parallel element 
                   14 
                 
                 
                     
                   for parallel staking side view 
                 
                 
                   15B 
                   Printed nanolinear pattern for a full parallel element 
                   14 
                 
                 
                     
                   for series stacking side view 
                 
                 
                   16 
                   Printed nanolinear pattern for a 2 series element 
                   15 
                 
                 
                   17 
                   Printed nanolinear pattern for a 3 series element 
                   16 
                 
                 
                   18 
                   Printed nanolinear pattern for a 4 series element 
                   17 
                 
                 
                   19 
                   Printed nanolinear pattern for a half full series 
                   18 
                 
                 
                     
                   element 
                 
                 
                   20 
                   Printed nanolimear pattern for a full series element 
                   19 
                 
                 
                   21 
                   Thick terminals printed over perforations in direction 
                   20 
                 
                 
                     
                   transversal to printing 
                 
                 
                   22 
                   Thin lines printed parallel to direction of printing 
                   21 
                 
                 
                     
                   for a full parallel element 
                 
                 
                   23 
                   Thin lines printed parallel to direction of printing 
                   22 
                 
                 
                     
                   for a 2 series element 
                 
                 
                   24 
                   Thin lines printed parallel to direction of printing 
                   23 
                 
                 
                     
                   for a 3 series element 
                 
                 
                   25 
                   Manufacturing process 
                   24 
                 
                 
                   26 
                   Stack of supercapacitor elements arranged in parallel 
                   25 
                 
                 
                   27 
                   Stack of supercapacitor elements arranged in series 
                   25 
                 
                 
                   28 
                   Stack of supercapacitor elements arranged in 2 series 
                   26 
                 
                 
                     
                   of 3 paralleled elements 
                 
                 
                   29 
                   Stack of supercapacitor elements arranged in 3 series 
                   26 
                 
                 
                     
                   of 2 paralleled elements 
                 
                 
                   30 
                   Isometric exploded view of supercapacitor unit 
                   27 
                 
                 
                   31 
                   Isometric view of parallel supercapacitor with 
                   27 
                 
                 
                     
                   prismatic case drawn in phantom lines 
                 
                 
                   31A 
                   Detail view of power lid connection to terminal of 
                   27 
                 
                 
                     
                   parallel supercapacitor 
                 
                 
                   32 
                   Isometric view of series supercapacitor with 
                   28 
                 
                 
                     
                   prismatic case drawn in phantom lines 
                 
                 
                   32A 
                   Detail view of power lid connection to terminal of 
                   28 
                 
                 
                     
                   series supercapacitor 
                 
                 
                   33 
                   Isometric view of alternate construction of 
                   28 
                 
                 
                     
                   supercapacitor 
                 
                 
                   33A 
                   Detail view of power lid connection to terminal of 
                   28 
                 
                 
                     
                   alternate supercapacitor 
                 
                 
                   33B 
                   Detail view of power lid clearance of alternate 
                   28 
                 
                 
                     
                   supercapacitor 
                 
                 
                   34 
                   Isometric view of another alternate construction of 
                   28 
                 
                 
                     
                   supercapacitor 
                 
                 
                   35 
                   Cross-sectional view of a portion of the element sheet 
                   29 
                 
                 
                   36 
                   Cross-sectional view of a portion of the photomask 
                   29 
                 
                 
                   37 
                   Standard deposition of ink into a material sheet 
                   29 
                 
                 
                   38 
                   Cross-sectional view of the filling of the photoresist 
                   29 
                 
                 
                     
                   gaps with ink 
                 
                 
                   39 
                   Process step of removing the remaining photoresist 
                   29 
                 
                 
                   40 
                   Process step of printing electrolyte 
                   29 
                 
                 
                     
                 
               
            
           
         
       
           [0000]    
         
           
                 
               
                 
                 
                 
               
                 
                 
                 
               
             
                 
                     
                 
                 
                   DRAWINGS - REFERENCE NUMERALS 
                 
               
            
             
                 
                   N 
                   Item Name 
                   Shown in FIGS. 
                 
                 
                     
                 
               
            
             
                 
                   42 
                   element sheet 
                   1 1A 2 2A 3 4 5 6 7 7A 8 8A 9 10 10A 
                 
                 
                     
                     
                   11 12 13 14 15 15A 15B 16 17 18 19 
                 
                 
                     
                     
                   20 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 35 36 37 
                 
                 
                     
                     
                   38 39 40 
                 
                 
                   43 
                   orifices 
                   1 1A 2 2A 3 4 8A 9 15 15A 15B 21 35 
                 
                 
                     
                     
                   36 38 39 40 
                 
                 
                   44 
                   perforation drum 
                   3 25 
                 
                 
                   45 
                   perforation spikes 
                   3 
                 
                 
                   46 
                   photoresist 
                   4 5 6 7A 8A 9 10A 11 35 36 
                 
                 
                   47 
                   pattern mask 
                   5 36 
                 
                 
                   48 
                   lens 
                   5 
                 
                 
                   49 
                   light source 
                   5 36 39 
                 
                 
                   50 
                   cylindrical pattern mask 
                   6 
                 
                 
                   51 
                   mask gap 
                   6 
                 
                 
                   52 
                   linear light source 
                   6 
                 
                 
                   53 
                   illuminated areas 
                   7A 
                 
                 
                   54 
                   removed areas 
                   8A 9 
                 
                 
                   55 
                   cavities 
                   8A 9 10A 36 
                 
                 
                   56 
                   physical barriers 
                   8A 9 10A 36 38 
                 
                 
                   57 
                   printer head 
                   10 37 38 40 
                 
                 
                   58 
                   ink 
                   10A 11 12 38 39 40 
                 
                 
                   59 
                   ink remover 
                   12 
                 
                 
                   60 
                   terminal 
                   13 14 15 15A 15B 16 17 18 19 20 21 
                 
                 
                     
                     
                   22 23 24 26 27 30 31A 32A 33A 33B 
                 
                 
                   61 
                   electrode A 
                   13 15 16 17 18 19 20 
                 
                 
                   62 
                   electrode B 
                   13 15 16 17 18 19 20 
                 
                 
                   63 
                   electrolyte 
                   14 15 15A 15B 26 27 40 
                 
                 
                   64 
                   glue strip 
                   14 15 15A 15B 
                 
                 
                   65 
                   fringe 
                   15 16 17 18 19 20 
                 
                 
                   66 
                   electrode gap 
                   15 16 17 18 19 20 
                 
                 
                   67 
                   electrode connection 
                   15 16 17 18 19 20 
                 
                 
                   68 
                   electrode connection gap 
                   15 16 17 18 19 20 
                 
                 
                   69 
                   curved end 
                   15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 
                 
                 
                   70 
                   curved contour 
                   15 16 17 18 19 20 
                 
                 
                   71 
                   series electrode 
                   16 17 18 19 20 
                 
                 
                   72 
                   printed layer 
                   15 15A 15B 26 27 
                 
                 
                   73 
                   parallel design 
                   15 
                 
                 
                   74 
                   series 2 design 
                   16 
                 
                 
                   75 
                   series 3 design 
                   17 
                 
                 
                   76 
                   series 4 design 
                   18 
                 
                 
                   77 
                   series half full design 
                   19 
                 
                 
                   78 
                   series full design 
                   20 
                 
                 
                   79 
                   thin line 
                   22 23 24 
                 
                 
                   80 
                   thin line extra run 
                   22 23 24 
                 
                 
                   81 
                   short thin line 
                   23 24 
                 
                 
                   82 
                   sheet heel 
                   25 
                 
                 
                   83 
                   continuous sheet 
                   25 
                 
                 
                   84 
                   work station 
                   25 
                 
                 
                   85 
                   guide roller 
                   25 
                 
                 
                   86 
                   stacked sheet 
                   25 
                 
                 
                   87 
                   width cut sheet 
                   25 
                 
                 
                   88 
                   length cut sheet 
                   25 
                 
                 
                   89 
                   parallel stack 
                   26 30 31 
                 
                 
                   90 
                   series stack 
                   27 32 
                 
                 
                   91 
                   2 series 3 parallel stack 
                   28 33 
                 
                 
                   92 
                   3 series 2 parallel stack 
                   29 
                 
                 
                   93 
                   terminal connection 
                   26 27 28 29 
                 
                 
                   94 
                   series gap 
                   27 28 29 
                 
                 
                   95 
                   cover element 
                   26 27 28 29 
                 
                 
                   96 
                   electrolyte seal 
                   30 
                 
                 
                   97 
                   terminal seal 
                   30 
                 
                 
                   98 
                   case 
                   30 31 32 33 
                 
                 
                   99 
                   device terminal 
                   30 31 31A 32 32A 33 33A 33B 34 
                 
                 
                   100 
                   device connection 
                   31A 32A 33A 
                 
                 
                   101 
                   device terminal bypass 
                   33B 
                 
                 
                     
                 
               
            
           
         
       
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0035]    The present invention consists of pattern designs and methods to produce affordable high quality supercapacitors that have high energy density and high power density. The groundbreaking pattern designs of the present invention optimize useable surface area within a substrate by creating linear barriers at distances that are only nanometers apart. The nanolinear pattern designs formed from the linear and other physical barriers once transferred to a suitable substrate are the basic elements to build the supercapacitor. The nanolinear patterns can be made using graphene ink, graphene oxide ink, other inks based on other carbon components such as activated carbon or carbon nanotubes, or using an ink based on a mixture of these components. The linear barriers extend in the direction of applying ink to the substrate and provide for ink to thicken along the linear barriers increasing the height of the ink in relation to the substrate and thereby increasing the surface area of the electrode which provides for increases in energy density and power density of the supercapacitor. 
         [0036]      FIG. 1  shows a top view of an element sheet  42   a  used to manufacture one element of the supercapacitor that is tailored to be used in parallel. In this case, the element sheet  42   a  is perforated by a series of orifices  43   a,    43   b  on both extremities. 
         [0037]      FIG. 1A  shows a front view of an element sheet  42   b  used to manufacture one element of the supercapacitor that is tailored to be used in parallel. In this case, the element sheet  42   b  is perforated by a series of orifices  43   c,    43   d  on both extremities. 
         [0038]      FIG. 2  shows a top view of the element sheet  42   a  used to manufacture one element of the supercapacitor that will be used in series. In this case, the element sheet  42   a  is perforated by a series of orifices  43   a  on only one extremity. 
         [0039]      FIG. 2A  shows a front view of the element sheet  42   b  used to manufacture one element of the supercapacitor that will be used in series. In this case, the element sheet  42   b  is perforated by a series of orifices  43   c  on only one extremity. 
         [0040]    The element sheet  42  is made of a printable isolating material such as acetate or plastic film as thin as practical to avoid surface defects and structural weakness. 
         [0041]      FIG. 3  shows an isometric view of a perforation drum  44  that can be used to produce the orifices  43   a  and  43   b  into the element sheet  42 . The perforation drum  44  has a series of perforation spikes  45   a  and  45   b  that may be heated for better results. As the perforation drum  44  rotates in the direction of the curved arrow, the element sheet  42  advances in synchronicity in the direction of the straight arrow, the perforation spikes  45   a  and  45   b  produce the orifices  43   a  and  43   b  in the intended positions in the element sheet. 
         [0042]      FIG. 4  shows an isometric view of the element sheet  42  coated with a layer of a photoresist  46  that is used to allow the printing or other process of application of the conductors on a very small scale thereby providing improvements in the performance of the supercapacitor. The orifices  43   a,    43   b  are visible in dashed lines. 
         [0043]      FIG. 5  shows an isometric view of an apparatus that may be used to sensitize the photoresist  46   a  and  46   b  that has been applied or deposited on both sides of the element sheet  42 . A light source  49  produces a light of adequate wavelength that goes through a lens  48  or an adequate apparatus to illuminate a pattern mask  47  having the linear and physical barriers to form the unique nanolinear pattern designs. Thenanolinear pattern design image is produced on the surface of the element sheet  42  to sensitize the photoresist. The process is repeated for both sides of the element sheet. 
         [0044]      FIG. 6  shows an isometric view of another apparatus that is more adequate for mass production that may be used to sensitize the photoresist  46   a  and  46   b  that has been deposited into both sides of the element sheet  42 . A linear light source  52  produces a focused and collimated light of adequate wavelength that illuminates a cylindrical pattern mask  50  producing a dynamic image of the nanolinear pattern design into the surface of the element sheet  42 . As the cylindrical pattern mask  50  rotates in the direction of the curved arrow, the element sheet  42  advances in synchronicity in the direction of the straight arrow, sensitizing the photoresist as it moves beneath the cylindrical pattern mask  50 . A mask gap  51  generates a gap between two consecutive element sheets so they can later on be cut apart. The process is repeated for both sides of the element sheet. 
         [0045]      FIG. 7  shows an isometric view of the element sheet  42  coated with the photoresist that has been sensitized to create a desired nanolinear pattern design of the present invention that will be created in the sheet. 
         [0046]    Detail  FIG. 7A  shows a series of illuminated areas  53  of the sensitized photoresist  46  to produce the desired pattern (in hatched lines) that will be created in the element sheet  42 . 
         [0047]      FIG. 8  shows an isometric view of the element sheet  42  coated with the photoresist that has been sensitized and developed removing the material to create a negative image of the intended nanolinear pattern. 
         [0048]    Detail  FIG. 8A  shows the photoresist  46  applied on the top of the element sheet  42  with a series of removed areas  54  that create a series of cavities  55  that are surrounded by physical barriers  56  creating a negative image of the intended nanolinear pattern. The parallel linear barriers formed with curves and other shapes may be only nanometers apart to define the electrical connections of the electrodes. The removal of material of the photoresist  46  exposes the orifices  43  so that when the graphene ink (or other suitable ink) is applied to the orifices the ink is allowed to flow through to connect both sides of the element sheet  42 . 
         [0049]      FIG. 9  shows the photoresist  46  applied on the bottom of the element sheet  42  with a series of removed areas  54  that create a negative image of the intended printing pattern. The removal of material of the photoresist  46  creates cavities  55  that expose the orifices  43  that are surrounded by physical barriers  56  so that when the graphene ink (or other suitable ink) is applied to the orifices the ink is allowed to flow through to connect both sides of the element sheet  42  providing an electrical connection along the extremities of each side of element sheet  42 . 
         [0050]      FIG. 10  shows an isometric view of the element sheet  42  as the removed areas of the photoresist are being filled with ink supplied by a printer head  57 . 
         [0051]    Detail  FIG. 10A  shows that as adequate ink  58  is deposited, the remaining photoresist  46  acts as physical barriers  56  that contain the ink  58  forcing it to exactly match the intended nanolinear pattern to be left into the element sheet  42 . 
         [0052]      FIG. 11  shows an isometric view of the element sheet  42  as the deposition of ink has finished. The photoresist  46  has confined the ink into the photoresist free areas  58   a,    58   b,  and  58   c  producing the intended nanolinear pattern. However, some ink may still overflow or spill over the top of the photoresist  46  barrier producing undesired deposits of ink  58   d,    58   e,    58   f,  etc. that need to be removed to avoid short circuits. 
         [0053]      FIG. 12  shows an isometric view of the element sheet  42  as the deposition of ink has finished. The photoresist  46  has confined the ink into the photoresist free areas  58   a,    58   b  producing the intended nanolinear pattern. An ink remover  59  such as through polishing is then used to eliminate the undesired deposits of ink producing a perfect sheet with no short circuits. 
         [0054]      FIG. 13  shows an isometric view of the element sheet  42  drawn in phantom lines to show the resulting printed features. 
         [0055]    Detail  FIG. 13A  shows that the process produces a terminal that is made of two halves  60   a  and  60   b  connected by a series of bridges  60   c  made of ink that had passed through the orifices made into the element sheet. The electrode A  61  and the electrode B  62  can also be seen (see  FIG. 15 ). 
         [0056]      FIG. 14  shows an isometric view of the element sheet  42  as a glue strip  64  and an electrolyte  63  are applied. The electrolyte  63  is applied on top of the nanolinear pattern design covering everything except terminals  60   a  and  60   b.  The glue strip  64  encircles the electrolyte  63  and both terminals  60   a  and  60   b  providing a containment to the electrolyte  63  and helps to secure the terminals in place once the element sheets are stacked (see  FIG. 26 ,  FIG. 27 ,  FIG. 28 , and  FIG. 29 ). 
         [0057]      FIG. 15  shows a top view of the element sheet  42   a  printed with the nanolinear pattern in a parallel design  73 . The parallel design  73  is used to maximize the number of individual capacitors that can be printed into a sheet using the most effective nanolinear pattern, that has linear barriers that extend in the direction of printing to minimize printing complexity and by doing so reduce costs and printing errors. The parallel design  73  is composed of a pair of terminals  60   a  and  60   b  that will become the positive and negative poles of the capacitor. The terminal  60   a  is connected to an electrode A  61  and the terminal  60   b  is connected to an electrode B  62  by a series of electrode connections  67  leaving a series of electrode connection gaps  68  that expose the material of the element sheet  42 . 
         [0058]    The electrode A  61  and the electrode B  62  have a series of intertwined fringes  65  that are separated by an electrode gap  66  that meanders between them. To facilitate the identification of the individual fringes the electrode A  61  is drawn with 45 degree left to right hatched lines and the electrode B  62  is drawn with 45 degree right to left hatched lines. 
         [0059]    To avoid spiked edges that have a concentrating effect on the electrical field that would negatively impair the performance of the supercapacitor device, each of the individual fringes of the electrodes terminate in a curved end  69  that is matched by a curved contour  70  on the other electrode. A layer of a suitable electrolyte  63   a  is printed on the top of the parallel design  73  covering all fringes of both the electrode A  61  and the electrode B  62  but leaving the electrode connection gaps  68  uncovered. In that way when a group of element sheets are stacked to produce a supercapacitor device, the electrolyte  63   a  can be sealed inside the stack by melting a thin strip of material of the element sheets or applying a glue strip  64   a  along the line passing at the middle of the electrode connection gaps  68  on both extremities of the element sheets and around the outermost fringes of the electrode A  61  and the electrode B  62  (see  FIG. 33 ). 
         [0060]      FIG. 15A  shows a front view of the element sheet  42   b  that has the printed layer  72   b  with two terminals  60   c  and  60   d  that both extend to the other side of the printed layer  72   b  in case of an element sheet tailored to be used in parallel. The orifices  43   a,    43   b  drawn in dashed lines connect the terminals in one side of the element sheet to the corresponding terminals on the other side. The electrolyte  63   b  is applied on top of the printed layer  72   b.  The glue strip  64   b  encircles the element sheet  42   b.    
         [0061]      FIG. 15B  shows a front view of the element sheet  42   c  that has the printed layer  72   c  with only one terminal  60   e  that extends to the other side of the printed layer  72   c  in in case of an element sheet tailored to be used in series. The orifices  43   c  drawn in dashed lines connect the terminal in one side of the element sheet to the corresponding terminal on the other side. The electrolyte  63   c  is applied on top of the printed layer  72   c.  The glue strip  64   c  encircles the element sheet  42   c.    
         [0062]    Each set of one fringe of the electrode A and one fringe of the electrode B implement one individual capacitor. The fringes are made as thin as possible and as high as possible to maximize the surface area that each individual element sheet can contain. The height of the fringes can be controlled by varying the thickness of the applied photoresist. 
         [0063]      FIG. 16  shows a top view of the element sheet  42  printed with a nanolinear pattern series 2 design  74 . The series 2 design  74  is composed of a pair of terminals  60   a  and  60   b  that will become the positive and negative poles of the capacitor. The terminal  60   a  is connected to several electrode A  61   a,    61   b,  etc. and the terminal  60   b  is connected to several electrode B  62   a,    62   b,  etc. by a series of electrode connections  67  leaving a series of electrode connection gaps  68  that expose the material of the element sheet  42 . Between the fringes  65  of each pair of electrodes, a series electrode  71   a,    71   b,  etc. is introduced creating two capacitors in series arranged in several parallel blocks. All electrode fringes are separated by electrode gaps  66 . To facilitate the identification of the individual fringes the electrode A  61  is drawn with 45 degree left to right hatched lines and the electrode B  62  is drawn with 45 degree right to left hatched lines while the series electrode  71  is left unmarked. 
         [0064]    To avoid spiked edges that have a concentrating effect on the electrical field that would negatively impair the performance of the supercapacitor device, the individual fringes  65  of the electrodes terminate in curved ends  69  matched by curved contours  70  on the other electrode whenever applicable. 
         [0065]    Each set of one fringe of the electrode A, one fringe of the electrode B and the fringe of the series electrode between them implement two individual capacitors connected in series. The fringes are made as thin as possible and as high as possible to maximize the surface area that each individual element sheet can contain. The height of the fringes can be controlled by varying the thickness of the applied photoresist. 
         [0066]      FIG. 17  shows a top view of the element sheet  42  printed with a nanolinear pattern series 3 design  75 . The series 3 design  75  is composed of the terminals  60   a  and  60   b  that will become the positive and negative poles of the capacitor. The terminal  60   a  is connected to several electrode A  61   a,    61   b,  etc. and the terminal  60   b  is connected to several electrode B  62   a,    62   b,  etc. by electrode connections  67  leaving electrode connection gaps  68  that expose the material of the element sheet  42 . Between the fringes  65  of each pair of electrodes, two series electrodes  71   a,    71   b,    71   c,    71   d,  etc. are introduced creating three capacitors in series arranged in several parallel blocks. All electrode fringes are separated by electrode gaps  66 . To facilitate the identification of the individual fringes the electrode A  61  is drawn with 45 degree left to right hatched lines and the electrode B  62  is drawn with 45 degree right to left hatched lines while the series electrode  71  is left unmarked. 
         [0067]    To avoid spiked edges that have a concentrating effect on the electrical field that would negatively impair the performance of the supercapacitor device, the individual fringes of the electrodes terminate in curved ends  69  matched by curved contours  70  on the other electrode whenever applicable. 
         [0068]    Each set of one fringe of the electrode A, one fringe of the electrode B and the two fringes of the series electrode between them implement three individual capacitors connected in series. The fringes are made as thin as possible and as high as possible to maximize the surface area that each individual element sheet can contain. The height of the fringes can be controlled by varying the thickness of the applied photoresist. 
         [0069]      FIG. 18  shows a top view of the element sheet  42  printed with a nanolinear pattern series 4 design  76 . The series 4 design  76  is composed of the terminals  60   a  and  60   b  that will become the positive and negative poles of the capacitor. The terminal  60   a  is connected to several electrode A  61   a,    61   b,  etc. and the terminal  60   b  is connected to several electrode B  62   a,    62   b,  etc. by electrode connections  67  leaving electrode connection gaps  68  that expose the material of the element sheet  42 . Between the fringes  65  of each pair of electrodes, three series electrodes  71   a,    71   b,    71   c,  etc. are introduced creating four capacitors in series. All electrode fringes are separated by electrode gaps  66 . To facilitate the identification of the individual fringes the electrode A  61  is drawn with 45 degree left to right hatched lines and the electrode B  62  is drawn with 45 degree right to left hatched lines while the series electrode  71  is left unmarked. 
         [0070]    To avoid spiked edges that have a concentrating effect on the electrical field that would negatively impair the performance of the supercapacitor device, the individual fringes of the electrodes terminate in curved ends  69  matched by curved contours  70  on the other electrode whenever applicable. 
         [0071]    Each set of one fringe of the electrode A, one fringe of the electrode B and the three fringes of the series electrode between them implement four individual capacitors connected in series. The fringes are made as thin as possible and as high as possible to maximize the surface area that each individual element sheet can contain. The height of the fringes can be controlled by varying the thickness of the applied photoresist. 
         [0072]      FIG. 19  shows a top view of the element sheet  42  printed with a nanolinear pattern series half full design  77 . The series half full design  77  is composed of the terminals  60   a  and  60   b  that will become the positive and negative poles of the capacitor. The terminal  60   a  is connected to two electrode A  61   a  and  61   b,  and the terminal  60   b  is connected to one electrode B  62  by electrode connections  67  leaving electrode connection gaps  68  that expose the material of the element sheet  42 . Between the fringes  65  of each pair of electrodes, several series electrodes  71   a,    71   b,  etc. are introduced creating several capacitors in series arranged in two parallel blocks. All electrode fringes are separated by electrode gaps  66 . To facilitate the identification of the individual fringes the electrode A  61  is drawn with 45 degree left to right hatched lines and the electrode B  62  is drawn with 45 degree right to left hatched lines while the series electrodes  71  are left unmarked. 
         [0073]    To avoid spiked edges that have a concentrating effect on the electrical field that would negatively impair the performance of the supercapacitor device, the individual fringes of the electrodes terminate in curved ends  69  matched by, curved contours  70  on the other electrode whenever applicable. 
         [0074]      FIG. 20  shows a top view of the element sheet  42  printed with a nanolinear pattern series full design  78 . The series full design  78  is composed of the terminals  60   a  and  60   b  that will become the positive and negative poles of the capacitor. The terminal  60   a  is connected to one electrode A  61  and the terminal  60   b  is connected to one electrode B  62  by electrode connections  67  leaving electrode connection gaps  68  that expose the material of the element sheet  42 . Between the fringes  65  of the electrodes, several series electrodes  71   a,    71   b,    71   c,  etc. are introduced creating several capacitors in series arranged in one block. All electrode fringes are separated by electrode gaps  66 . To facilitate the identification of the individual fringes the electrode A  61  is drawn with 45 degree left to right hatched lines and the electrode B  62  is drawn with 45 degree right to left hatched lines while the series electrodes  71  are left unmarked. 
         [0075]    To avoid spiked edges that have a concentrating effect on the electrical field that would negatively impair the performance of the supercapacitor device, the individual fringes of the electrodes terminate in curved ends  69  matched by curved contours  70  on the other electrode whenever applicable. 
         [0076]    Other configurations that produce other arrangements of m paralleled sets of n capacitors in series can be easily produced by altering the pattern of electrode A, electrode B and series electrodes that may be printed or otherwise applied to the element sheet  42 . 
         [0077]    In another embodiment of the invention,  FIG. 21  shows a top view of an element sheet  42  on which two terminals  60   a  and  60   b  are printed directly on top of orifices  43   a,    43   b  using traditional printing techniques that do not require photoresist. The terminals  60   a  and  60   b  are printed as a thick Line perpendicular to the direction of the printing (indicated by the straight arrow) and are made with a size slightly bigger than necessary to accommodate small subsequent printing errors. 
         [0078]      FIG. 22  shows a top view of an element sheet  42  with two terminals  60   a  and  60   b  printed as explained in  FIG. 21 . A pattern consisting of a series of thin lines  79   a,    79   b,  etc printed in the direction of printing (indicated by the straight arrow) is then added to the element sheet  42  in such a way that alternating thin lines start at one terminal and do not reach the other. The thin lines  79   a,    79   b,  etc. may terminate in curved ends  69  or not depending on the level of control that the printer equipment can offer. To ensure proper operation each thin line  79   a,    79   b,  etc. have a thin line extra run  80   a,    80   b,  etc. that advances over the recently printed terminal to which the line is supposed to be connected and terminates at a safe distance from the other. As the terminals are made larger than necessary, the thin line pattern is printed in the direction of the printing and the thin lines are printed overrunning the terminals, small errors in the positioning of the thin line pattern can be accommodated. As a result this design enables existing printing equipment to be tuned to produce thin lines as thin as 1 micron, separated by gaps of 1 micron when their normal maximum resolution would be 5 microns or more. 
         [0079]    The thin lines implement the electrodes of individual capacitors and are made as thin as possible and as high as possible to maximize the surface area that each individual element sheet can contain. The height of the thin lines can be controlled by varying the viscosity of the ink: using a more viscous ink produces a higher line. Depending on the process, quick drying ink or ink that cures with UV light or using another method may be applied to further increase the attainable height of the thin lines. 
         [0080]    The pattern illustrated in  FIG. 22  produces an element sheet with all individual capacitors arranged in parallel. This configuration is similar to the one described in  FIG. 15 . 
         [0081]      FIG. 23  shows a top view of an element sheet  42  with two terminals  60   a  and  60   b  printed as explained in  FIG. 21 . A pattern consisting of a series of thin lines  79   a,    79   b,  etc and short thin lines  81   a,    81   b,  etc. printed in the direction of printing (indicated by the straight arrow) is then added to the element sheet  42  in such a way that alternating thin lines  79   a,    79   b,  etc start at one terminal and do not reach the other and the short thin lines  81   a,    81   b,  etc. do not touch either one of the terminals. The thin lines  79   a,    79   b,  etc. and the short thin lines  81   a,    81   b,  etc. may terminate in curved ends  69  or not depending on the level of control that the printer equipment can offer. To ensure proper operation the thin lines  79   a,    79   b,  etc. have thin line extra runs  80   a,    80   b,  etc. that advance over the recently printed terminal to which the line is supposed to be connected and terminates at a safe distance from the other. As the terminals are made larger than necessary, the thin line and short thin line pattern is printed in the direction of the printing and the thin lines are printed overrunning the terminals, small errors in the positioning of the thin line and short thin line pattern can be accommodated. As a result this design enables existing printing equipment to be tuned to produce thin lines and short thin lines as thin as 1 micron, separated by gaps of 1 micron when their normal maximum resolution would be 5 microns or more. 
         [0082]    The pattern illustrated in  FIG. 23  with one short thin line printed between every two thin lines produces an element sheet with in paralleled sets of 2 capacitors in series, where m depends on the width of the element sheet and the thickness of the thin lines and short thin lines printed. This configuration is similar to the one described in  FIG. 16 . 
         [0083]    The thin lines and the short thin lines implement the electrodes of individual capacitors and are made as thin as possible and as high as possible to maximize the surface area that each individual element sheet can contain. The height of the thin lines and the short thin lines can be controlled by varying the viscosity of the ink: using a more viscous ink produces a higher line. Depending on the process, quick drying ink or ink that cures with UV light or using another method may be applied to further increase the attainable height of the thin lines and the short thin lines. 
         [0084]      FIG. 24  shows a top view of an element sheet  42  with two terminals  60   a  and  60   b  printed as explained in  FIG. 21 . A pattern consisting of a series of thin lines  79   a,    79   b,  etc and short thin lines  81   a,    81   b,  etc. printed in the direction of printing (indicated by the straight arrow) is then added to the element sheet  42  in such a way that alternating thin lines  79   a,    79   b,  etc start at one terminal and do not reach the other and the short thin lines  81   a,    81   b , etc. do not touch either one of the terminals. The thin lines  79   a,    79   b,  etc. and the short thin lines  81   a,    81   b,  etc. may terminate in curved ends  69  or not depending on the level of control that the printer equipment can offer. To ensure proper operation the thin lines  79   a,    79   b,  etc. have thin line extra runs  80   a,    80   b , etc. that advance over the recently printed terminal to which the line is supposed to be connected and terminates at a safe distance from the other. As the terminals are made larger than necessary, the thin line and short thin line pattern is printed in the direction of the printing and the thin lines are printed overrunning the terminals, small errors in the positioning of the thin line and short thin line pattern can be accommodated. As a result this design enables existing printing equipment to be tuned to produce thin lines and short thin lines as thin as 1 micron, separated by gaps of 1 micron when their normal maximum resolution would be 5 microns or more. 
         [0085]    The pattern illustrated in  FIG. 24  with two short thin lines printed between every two thin lines produces an element sheet with m paralleled sets of 3 capacitors in series, where m depends on the width of the element sheet and the thickness of the thin lines and short thin lines printed. This configuration is similar to the one described in  FIG. 17 . 
         [0086]    Other configurations, similar to the ones described in in  FIG. 18 ,  FIG. 19 , and  FIG. 20  as well as other arrangements of m paralleled sets of n capacitors in series can be easily produced by altering the pattern of thin lines and short thin lines printed. 
         [0087]      FIG. 25  shows an isometric view of a manufacturing method that can produce large quantities of element sheets stacked on top of each other at an affordable cost. A sheet heel  82  of thin plastic film, containing up to several kilometers of a continuous sheet  83   a  is unrolled to feed the machinery. The continuous sheet  83   a  is first perforated using the perforation drum  44  or other suitable method to produce orifices in the required locations. The continuous sheet  83   a  then passes through a series of work stations  84   a,    84   b,    84   c,  etc. where the other steps of the process are carried out. 
         [0088]    in the printing process, work station  84   a  prints the terminals, work station  84   b  prints the selected pattern of thin lines and short thin lines, work station  84   c  dispenses the electrolyte and the glue strip. 
         [0089]    In the photoresist process, work station  84   a  dispenses the photoresist, work station  84   b  sensitizes the photoresist using a cylindrical pattern mask as described in  FIG. 6  or another suitable method. The work station  84   c  removes the areas of the photoresist and subsequent work stations (not drawn to avoid cluttering) dispense the ink, remove eventual ink spills, remove the remaining photoresist, dispense the electrolyte and the glue strip. 
         [0090]    Several continuous sheets  83   b,    83   c,    83   d,    83   e,  etc. under tension to allow the proper alignment of the terminals using guide rollers  85   a,    85   b,  etc. are then pressed together and glued producing a stacked sheet  86 . The stacked sheet  86  is cut first in the direction of the movement producing parallel width cut sheets  87  that are subsequently cut in the perpendicular direction of the movement producing length cut sheets  88  in the designed size. Depending on the sequence of the element sheets printed into the different continuous sheets, a variety of stacks can be produced. 
         [0091]      FIG. 26  shows a front view of a parallel stack  89  that is composed of several element sheets  42   a,    42   b,    42   c,  etc. with identical nanolinear pattern designs or printed thin line and short thins line patterns and identical terminal configurations that have been made with terminals  60   a,    60   b,  etc. on both sides of both extremities. The element sheets  42   a,    42   b,    42   c,  etc. with their corresponding printed layers  72   a,    72   b,  etc. and their layers of electrolyte  63   a,    63   b,    63   c,  etc. are stacked on top of each other and each terminal on the top of an element sheet gets in contact with the corresponding terminal on the bottom of the next element sheet producing a set of terminal connections  93 . The electrolyte applied to an element sheet is contained by the element sheet where the electrolyte has been applied and the next element sheet. A cover element  95  consisting of a element sheet with all terminals but no electrodes and no electrolyte is placed on the top to contain the electrolyte of the previous element sheet closing the parallel stack  89 . 
         [0092]      FIG. 27  shows a front view of a series stack  90  that is composed of several element sheets  42   a,    42   b,    42   c,  etc. with identical nanolinear pattern designs or printed thin line and short thins line patterns and identical terminal configurations that have been made with terminals  60   a,    60   b,  etc. on both extremities on the top but only one extremity on the bottom  60   c.  The element sheets  42   a,    42   b,    42   c,  etc. with their corresponding printed layers  72   a,    72   b,  etc. and their layers of electrolyte  63   a,    63   b,  etc. are stacked on top of each other alternating the orientation so that the terminals  60   c  on the bottom are located on the left side in one layer and on the right side on the next layer of the stack. One terminal on every element sheet does not have a corresponding terminal on the bottom of the next element sheet and because the element sheet is made of a material that is not a conductor of electricity, a series gap  94  is produced. The terminal on the top of the next element sheet on the same side of the stack has a matching terminal on the bottom of the next element sheet producing a terminal connection  93 . This arrangement alternates from left to right at each subsequent layer producing series connections of all element sheets on the series stack  90 . The electrolyte applied to an element sheet is contained by the element sheet where the electrolyte has been applied and the next element sheet. The cover element  95  with terminals on the same side and on only one extremity on the top and on the bottom, and with no electrodes and no electrolyte is placed on the top of the stack to contain the electrolyte of the previous element sheet closing the series stack  90 . 
         [0093]      FIG. 28  shows front view of a 2 series 3 parallel stack  91  that is composed of element sheets with identical nanolinear pattern designs or printed thin line and short thins line patterns and different terminal configurations. The element sheets  42   a,  and  42   d  have been made with terminals on both extremities on the top but only one extremity on the bottom and are stacked at alternating orientations. The element sheets  42   b,    42   c,    42   e,    42   f  have been made with terminals on both extremities on the top and on the bottom. The electrolyte applied to an element sheet is contained by the element sheet where the electrolyte has been applied and the next element sheet. The cover element  95  with terminals on the same side and on only one extremity on the top and on the bottom, and with no electrodes and no electrolyte is placed on the top of the stack to contain the electrolyte of the previous element sheet closing the 2 series 3 parallel stack  91 . 
         [0094]    The series gap  94   a  in the middle divides the 2 series 3 parallel stack  91  in two blocks, each made with three element sheets. The first block is made by element sheets  42   a,    42   b,  and  42   c  connected by the terminal connections  93   a,    93   b,    93   c,  and  93   d.  The second block is made by element sheets  42   d,    42   e,  and  42   f  connected by the terminal connections  93   f,    93   g,    93   h,  and  93   i.  The two blocks are connected in series by the terminal connection  93   e.  The terminal connections  93   j  makes the connection to the cover element  95  and the series gap  94   b  on the other side insulates the rest of the element sheets. 
         [0095]      FIG. 29  shows front view of a 3 series 2 parallel stack  92  that is composed of element sheets with identical nanolinear pattern designs or printed thin line and short thins line patterns and different terminal configurations. The element sheets  42   a,    42   c,  and  42   e  have been made with terminals on both extremities on the top but only one extremity on the bottom and are stacked at alternating orientations. The element sheets  42   b,    42   d,  and  42   f  have been made with terminals on both extremities on the top and on the bottom. The electrolyte applied to an element sheet is contained by the element sheet where the electrolyte has been applied and the next element sheet. The cover element  95  with terminals on the same side and on only one extremity on the top and on the bottom, and with no electrodes and no electrolyte is placed on the top of the stack to contain the electrolyte of the previous element sheet closing the 3 series 2 parallel stack  92 . 
         [0096]    The series gaps  94   a  and  94   b  divide the 3 series 2 parallel stack  92  in three blocks, each made with two element sheets. The first block is made by element sheets  42   a  and  42   b  connected by the terminal connections  93   a  and  93   b.  The second block is made by element sheets  42   c  and  42   d  connected by the terminal connections  93   d  and  93   e.  The third block is made by element sheets  42   e  and  42   f  connected by the terminal connections  93   g  and  93   h.  The first and the second blocks are connected in series by the terminal connection  93   c  and the second and third blocks are connected in series by the terminal connection  93   f.  The terminal connections  93   i.  makes the connection to the cover element  95  and the series gap  94   c  on the other side insulates the rest of the element sheets. 
         [0097]    To implement a stack able to provide certain voltage and current, a suitable combination of element sheets can be used to produce any type of n by m stack where n blocks each made of m element sheets connected in parallel are connected in series. 
         [0098]      FIG. 30  shows an exploded view of one embodiment of a supercapacitor composed of a case  98  that has two device terminals  99   a  and  99   b  and a stack of element sheets. In the case of  FIG. 30  the supercapacitor is assembled with one parallel stack  89 . An electrolyte seal  96  is made around the area covered by the electrolyte to prevent leaks and two terminal seals  97   a  and  97   b  are made to provide mechanical support, isolate the terminals  60   a  and  60   b  and improve contact among the several terminals in the individual element sheets. The electrolyte seal  96  and the terminal seals  97   a  and  97   b  can be made using a glue strip or by applying heat to the necessary spots in the element sheets to cause them to melt and fuse together. As the terminals  60   a  and  60   b  in both extremities of the parallel stack  89  are all connected, the device terminals  99   a  and  99   b  are constructed to go around the case  98  so they can make contact to the terminals at both sides of the case. 
         [0099]      FIG. 31  shows the assembled supercapacitor of  FIG. 30 , composed of the case  98 , two device terminals  99   a  and  99   b  and the parallel stack  89 . 
         [0100]    Detail  FIG. 31A  shows a device connection  100   a  between the topmost terminal  60   a  of the parallel stack and the device terminal  99   a.  The device connection  100   a  can in most applications be made just by contact, not requiring welding or complicated wiring, reducing manufacturing complexity and costs. 
         [0101]      FIG. 32  shows another embodiment of an assembled supercapacitor, in this case based on one series stack  90 . As the series stack  90  has terminals on both sides of only one extremity of the case  98 , the device terminals  99   a  and  99   b  are made with a different design. The device terminals  99   a  and  99   b  are embedded in the case  98  one at each side of the case at the appropriate position to contact the terminals of the stack. 
         [0102]      FIG. 32A  shows the device connection  100   a  between the device terminal  99   a  and the terminal  60   a  of the series stack. 
         [0103]      FIG. 33  shows another embodiment of an assembled supercapacitor, in this case based on one 2 series 3 parallel stack  91 . A second alternative design for the device terminals  99   a  and  99   b  for stacks that have terminals on both sides of only one extremity of the case  98  such as the 2 series 3 parallel stack  91  is shown. The device terminals  99   a  and  99   b  are made shorter to be placed at the same extremity of the case  98  with some clearance between them. 
         [0104]    Detail  FIG. 33A  shows the device connection  100   a  between the device terminal  99   a  and the terminal  60   a  of the 2 series 3 parallel stack. 
         [0105]    Detail  FIG. 33B  shows that a device terminal bypass  101   b  allows the device terminal  99   b  to pass above the terminal  60   a  without touching it. The device terminal  99   b  and the terminal  60   a  are separated by the use wall. 
         [0106]      FIG. 34  shows another embodiment of an assembled supercapacitor for stacks that have terminals on opposite extremities of the case  98  such as the parallel stack. The device terminals  99   a  and  99   b  are placed at opposite extremities at the appropriate places to connect the terminals of the stack. 
       Operation 
       [0107]      FIG. 3  shows that as the perforation drum  44  rotates in the direction of the curved arrow, the element sheet  42  advances in synchronicity in the direction of the straight arrow, the perforation spikes  45   a  and  45   b  produce the orifices  43   a  and  43   b  in the intended positions in the element sheet. 
         [0108]      FIG. 6  shows that as the cylindrical pattern mask  50  rotates in the direction of the curved arrow and the element sheet  42  advances in synchronicity in the direction of the straight arrow, the linear light source  52  produces a focused and collimated light of adequate wavelength that illuminates the cylindrical pattern mask  50  producing a dynamic image into the surface of the element sheet  42  sensitizing the photoresist. The mask gap  51  generates a gap between two consecutive element sheets so they can later on be cut apart. The process is repeated for both sides of the element sheet. 
         [0109]      FIG. 25  shows the manufacturing method that can produce large quantities of element sheets stacked on top of each other at an affordable cost. The sheet heel  82  of thin plastic film, containing up to several kilometers of continuous sheet  83   a  is unrolled to feed the machinery. The continuous sheet  83   a  is first perforated using the perforation drum  44  or other suitable method to produce orifices in the required locations. The continuous sheet  83   a  then passes through a series of work stations  84   a,    84   b,    84   c,  etc. where the other steps of the process are carried out. 
         [0110]    In the printing process, work station  84   a  prints the terminals, work station  84   b  prints the selected pattern of thin lines and short thin lines, work station  84   c  dispense the electrolyte and the glue strip. 
         [0111]    In the photoresist process, work station  84   a  dispenses the photoresist, work station  84   b  sensitizes the photoresist using a cylindrical pattern mask as described in  FIG. 6  or another suitable method. The work station  84   c  removes the areas of the photoresist and subsequent work stations (not drawn to avoid cluttering) dispense the ink, remove eventual ink spills, remove the remaining photoresist, dispense the electrolyte and the glue strip. 
         [0112]    Several continuous sheets  83   b,    83   c,    83   d,    83   e,  etc. under tension to allow the proper alignment of the terminals using guide rollers  85   a,    85   b,  etc. are then pressed together and glued producing the stacked sheet  86 . The stacked sheet  86  is cut first in the direction of the movement producing parallel width cut sheets  87  that are subsequently cut in the perpendicular direction of the movement producing length cut sheets  88  in the designed size. Depending on the sequence of the element sheets printed into the different continuous sheets, a variety of stacks can be produced. 
         [0113]      FIG. 35  shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the element sheet  42  already perforated by orifices  43  that serves as a substrate for the photoresist  46 . The photoresist  46  may be applied to the element sheet  42  through spin coating, spraying, roller coating, dip coating, extrusion coating or other similar process to spread the photoresist  46  evenly over the surface of the element sheet  42 . The coating process may also optimize the thickness T C  of the photoresist  46  to provide adequately dimensioned structural surfaces that form the physical barriers to contain the special grapheme and/or carbon based inks. For example, using a roller coating process that is suitable to integrate in a process described in  FIG. 25  the photoresist  46  may be spread using a roller that is kept at a constant distance from the element sheet  42  setting the thickness T C  of the photoresist  46 . The thickness T C  of the photoresist  46  may in some embodiments be in a range of 1 μm-10 μm or in other ranges depending on the energy density and power density desired. 
         [0114]      FIG. 36  shows a cross-section of a portion of a pattern mask  47  aligned over the photoresist  46  to expose partial areas of the photoresist  46  to the light source  49 . A developer solution is applied to wash the exposed portions away from the photoresist  46  and leave a set of cavities  55  surrounded by physical barriers  56  and exposing the orifices  43 . 
         [0115]      FIG. 37  illustrates the deposition of ink  58  from the printer head  57  that due to settling and splatter is generally greater than 5 μm depending upon the ink&#39;s composition and viscosity. Using the process of the present invention, the special ink  58  made of graphene, graphene oxide, activated carbon, carbon nanotubes or other mixtures are printed within the cavities formed by the physical barriers  56  of photoresist. As shown multiple cavities  55  may be formed within a very small area and within areas much smaller than the 5 μm minimally necessary for the deposition of ink  58  on an element sheet  42  having only a flat surface. 
         [0116]    As shown in  FIG. 38 , the thickness T C  of the photoresist layer  46  provides for ink  58   a  to fill or partially fill the cavities providing for increased amounts of ink  58   a  within very small areas increasing the surface area of the graphene and carbon components and thereby increasing energy storage. This allows the ink  58   a  to reach all spots intended to be covered without the risk of leaks or spills that could lead to short circuits. The deposited ink  58   b  flows through and fills the orifices  43  reaching the other side of the element sheet  42 . 
         [0117]    At this point in the process, the ink  58   a,    58   ba  can be submitted to a curing process or be left to dry on its own before the physical barrier is removed. In some embodiments, the graphene and/or carbon based ink may be made with tiny particles using a binder of low viscosity or may be made with a binder that will not harden unless submitted to a suitable curing process to solidify the ink to form the pattern designs as described herein. In the event that the ink overflows the volume of the cavities  55  a process can be used to remove the excess ink without damaging the ink deposited inside the cavities as described in  FIG. 12 . 
         [0118]      FIG. 39  illustrates that after the ink  58   a,    58   b  has dried, a process step to expose the remaining areas of photoresist to the light source  49  is carried out so that all photoresist can be washed away from the element sheet  42 . 
         [0119]      FIG. 40  illustrates a process step of printing the electrolyte  63  within the pattern designs formed from the graphene, and/or carbon based ink  58   a,    58   b.  The electrolyte  63  flows into the gaps left by the removed photoresist and can be sealed using a glue strip or by applying heat. 
         [0120]    The individual element sheets of the supercapacitor are made and stacked according to the specified voltage and current ratings desired. To increase the current and the energy stored a block of element sheets stacked in parallel is used and to increase the voltage, identical blocks of one or more element sheets are stacked in series. The terminals are constructed to have a much larger size than the individual fringe to enable the individual element sheets to be easily stacked without the need to precisely align them, facilitating the construction of the devices and reducing costs. The larger size of the terminals also facilitates the conductance of large currents improving the maximum instantaneous power that a device is able to supply. 
         [0121]    The operation of the supercapacitor is very simple and follows the standard practice of such devices. The supercapacitor can be charged and discharged using an appropriate circuit that ensures that the maximum current is not exceeded during charge or discharge. 
       Conclusion 
       [0122]    A set of pattern designs to construct element sheets is proposed that facilitates the construction of supercapacitors using thin sheets that can be printed using graphene based inks. The proposed patterns are made mostly of parallel straight lines allowing the patterns to be aligned with the direction of the printing. This facilitates the deposition of the ink and reduces printing errors and costs. 
         [0123]    The proposed patterns also contain terminals of a larger size compared to the other printed features on the element sheet that connect both sides of the element sheet through a series of connecting orifices. The terminals simplify the assembly of a stack of element sheets, necessary to achieve the desired voltage, current and charge ratings, enabling the individual printed sheets to be placed on top of each other without the need of individual welds, metallization or complicated process of alignment. The connections are made easily and reliably just by the placement of the individual sheets on the stack. 
         [0124]    The electrolyte in the sheets can be sealed inside the stack with a glue strip or using a heat sealing process and the sealed stack can be simply placed inside a case without the need of welding unless a more demanding application requires a more stable connection. 
         [0125]    The the photoresist process allows the printing of very small structures using photoresist enabling the construction of devices with higher energy density without increasing the weight of the device. 
         [0126]    The standard printing process allows the construction of cheaper devices than the ones produced with the photoresist process by using standard printing equipment albeit producing devices with smaller energy density. 
         [0127]    The combination of more efficient designs, simpler assembly process and smaller structures produce better supercapacitor devices at affordable prices. 
         [0128]    The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.