Electrochromic properties of tungsten-titanium oxide films

The last decade has seen great in electrochromic (EC) technology for smart windows and displays. In this study, WTiOx films formed from TiO2 and WO3 were deposited onto ITO glass with a sheet resistance of 10 Omega cm and on silicon substrates, by pulsed magnetron sputtering using a W and Ti alloy target. The films were deposited at plasma powers 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 W using a gaseous Ar (150 sccm)/O2 (50 sccm) mixture; the working pressure was fixed at 5E-2 torr. The film thickness increased with the plasma power. However, increasing the plasma power yielded a more crystalline structure with poorer electrochromic properties. The influence of Ti doping and plasma power on the structural, optical and electrochromic properties of the WTiOx thin films was studied. WTiOx films grown at various plasma powers of under 400 W were amorphous. Deposition of films at 400 W yielded the optimal electrochromic properties, with high optical modulation, high coloration efficiency and the lowest color memory effect at wavelengths 400, 550 and 800 nm. An XPS study indicated that Ti can stabilize the valence state of W6+. The improvements caused by the doping with Ti were tested: an optical density (OD) of close to 0.85 and a maximum delta T (%) at 400 nm of 25.8%, at 550 nm of 52.5% and at 800 nm (in the near-IR region) of 62.4%.