Toward an Ultrahigh Energy Density Capacitor

To make the new material, the thin film is first deposited via a pulsed-laser deposition process in this chamber. The bright 'plume' you see is the laser hitting the target and depositing the material. (Image courtesy of Lane Martin) By introducing defects to a common material, Berkeley Lab researchers create a highly efficient capacitor with dramatically increased energy density Capacitors that rapidly store and release electric energy are key components in modern electronics and power systems. However, the most commonly used ones have low energy densities compared to other storage systems like batteries or fuel cells, which in turn cannot discharge and recharge rapidly without sustaining damage. Now, as reported , researchers have found the best of both worlds. By introducing isolated defects to a type of commercially available thin film in a straightforward post-processing step, a team led by researchers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has demonstrated that a common material can be processed into a top-performing energy storage material. Today, the Materials Project combines both computational and experimental efforts to, among other goals, accelerate the design of new functional materials.