Patent ID: 7871734

Claim:
A single chamber fuel cell comprising: a substantially planar electrolyte layer having an average thickness of less than about 10 μm; a substantially planar selectively active cathode contacting the electrolyte layer, the cathode having an average thickness of less than about 10 μm; and a substantially planar selectively active anode contacting the electrolyte layer, the anode having an average thickness of less than about 10 μm; and a substrate contacting at least one of the cathode, anode, or electrolyte, wherein at least a portion of the cathode or anode is placed in a subsurface trench, provided that, when a portion of the cathode and a portion of the anode are placed in subsurface trenches, the portion of the cathode is not placed in the same subsurface trench as the portion of the anode.