Patent ID: 7632602

Claim:
A thin film lithium secondary battery composite precursor comprising: a) an anode current collector layer deposited by vacuum vapor deposition that has at least one conductive face and is characterized by its ability to function as a self-supporting substrate b) a buried electrolyte layer deposited by vacuum vapor deposition, one face of which is in communication with a conductive face of said anode current collector layer, wherein said electrolyte layer is a conductor of lithium ions and exhibits chemical stability upon contact with lithium metal; c) a cathode layer deposited by vacuum vapor deposition and subsequently lithiated with a supra stoichiometric amount of lithium, the cathode layer in communication with a face of said electrolyte layer that is not in communication with said anode current collector layer; and d) a cathode current collector layer deposited by vacuum vapor deposition and that is in communication with a face of the cathode layer that is not in communication with the electrolyte layer, the composite precursor being characterized by its ability to form a buried lithium anode layer at the interface between said anode current collector and said electrolyte when a current is maintained between the anode current collector and the cathode current collector, and its ability to be chemically stable when exposed to an ambient environment.