TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CERAMICS AND GLASS - Preferred Properties: The thickness of self supporting ceramic cathode layer is greater than 100 mu m.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - METALLURGY - Preferred Components: The self supporting ceramic cathode layer is lithium containing metal oxide, metal oxide, metal sulfide, lithium containing metal sulfide, metal oxysulfide, lithium containing metal oxysulfide, selenide, metal phosphate, and/or lithium containing metal phosphate comprising mixture of cathodic material and electrolyte and conductive material. The electrolyte layer is lithium phosphorus oxynitride; lithium vanadium silicate of formula Li3.4V0.6Si0.4O4 or Li6.1V0.61Si0.39O5.36; lithium boron composite consisting of lithium metaborate, lithium borophosphate or lithium sulfate-lithium oxide-boric oxide; or lithium sulfide-silicon sulfide-phosphorus sulfide or lithium iodide-lithium sulfide-phosphorus sulfide-phosphorus pentoxide. The anode layer comprises lithium metal, lithium alloy, material consisting of carbon, tin, silicon, germanium, aluminum, magnesium, indium or gallium, or another material consisting of lithium vanadium pentoxide of formula LixV2O5, where x is not defined, vanadium pentoxide, copper, silicon tin oxynitride of formula SiSn0.87O1.20N1.72 or tin oxide. The self supporting anode layer is lithium or lithium alloys; copper or copper alloys; silver or silver alloys; or sodium or sodium alloys. The first sealing layer is silicon nitride or silicon oxynitride. The second sealing layer is silicon oxide or metal. Preferred Method: The electrochemical cell formation process comprises densification comprising using at least one high temperature preparative technique to form cathode layer, and hot isostatic pressing; mixing electrolytic material with material used to form ceramic self supporting cathode layer; mixing conductive material with material used to form ceramic self supporting cathode layer and electrolytic material; depositing layer of metal onto solid electrolyte layer; depositing first sealing layer onto electrochemical cell; and depositing a second sealing layer. The solid electrolyte layer forming on ceramic self supporting cathode layer comprises depositing solid electrolyte material on ceramic self supporting cathode layer by sputtering, radio frequency sputtering, molecular beam deposition, atomic layer deposition, by pulsed laser deposition, chemical vapor deposition, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, or ion beam assisted deposition.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - POLYMERS - Preferred Components: The first sealing layer is parylene or polymer. The second sealing layer is a polymer.