Patent 7943254 was granted and assigned to Sony on May, 2011 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An anode capable of relaxing the stress concentration and improving the characteristics and a battery using it are provided. The anode includes an anode current collector and an anode active material layer containing silicon (Si) as an element, wherein an anode active material layer has a metal element increasing and decreasing region in which a metal element is contained as an element, and a concentration of the metal element is increased and then decreased in a thickness direction.