The development of automobile, large-scale energy storage, and micro devices requires the ever increasing energy and power density and the improvement of the safety and operation temperature range of the secondary battery. All-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs) draw much attention recently as the most potential electrochemical energy storage device. In this review, the advantages of ASSLBs, i.e., the benefits of incorporating solid electrolytes on the improvement of the safety, energy and power density and expanding the operation temperature and application fields of lithium batteries, are summarized. The requirements for qualified solid electrolytes used as the key material in ASSLBs are also suggested, based on which the advantages and disadvantages of polymer electrolytes and inorganic solid electrolytes (especially sulfides and oxides) are discussed. The three configurations, i.e., thin film, 3D thin film, and bulk type, of ASSLBs are introduced. The history and present status of ASSLBs progressing from the thin film type to the bulk type are reviewed with the focus on the representative prototype batteries developed so far. The barriers associated with solid electrolyte materials that still hinder ASSLBs from achieving high safety, energy and power density are finally indicated.

all solid state  /  lithium battery  /  solid electrolyte  /  electrochemical energy storage