Using thermal interface resistance for non-invasive operando mapping of buried interfacial lithium morphology in-solid state batteries

The lithium metal-solid-state electrolyte interface plays a critical role in the performance of solid-state batteries. However, operando characterization of the buried interface morphology in solid-state cells is particularly difficult because of the lack of direct optical access. Destructive techniques that require isolating the interface inadvertently modify the interface and cannot be used for operando monitoring. In this work, we introduce the concept of thermal wave sensing using modified 3-omega sensors that is attached to the outside of the lithium metal-solid state cells to non-invasively probe the morphology of the lithium metal-electrolyte interface. We show that the thermal interface resistance measured by the 3-omega sensors relates directly to the physical morphology of the interface and demonstrate that 3-omega thermal wave sensing can be used for non-invasive operando monitoring the morphology evolution of the lithium metal-solid state electrolyte interface.