Patent ID: 7652479

Claim:
A method for measuring the through-thickness resistance or conductance of a thin electrolyte, the method comprising: positioning a first source electrode on a first side of an electrolyte; positioning a second source electrode on a second side of the electrolyte, wherein the second side is opposite the first side and wherein the first and second source electrodes partially overlap; positioning a first sense electrode, corresponding to the first source electrode, on the second side of the electrolyte, wherein the first sense electrode is positioned such that it is in contact with the second side of the electrolyte opposite a non-overlapping portion of the first source electrode and is not in direct physical or electrical contact with the second source electrode; positioning a second sense electrode, corresponding to the second source electrode, on the first side of the electrolyte, wherein the second sense electrode is positioned such that it is in contact with the first side of the electrolyte opposite a non-overlapping portion of the second source electrode and is not in direct physical or electrical contact with the first source electrode; passing a driving DC or AC current between the first and second source electrodes; measuring the resulting DC or AC voltage between the first and second sense electrodes; calculating the through-thickness resistance or conductance based on the DC or AC current and the measured DC or AC voltage; and outputting the through-thickness resistance or conductance.