This application claims the benefits of Taiwan application Serial No. 108134401, filed on Sep. 24, 2019, the disclosures of which are incorporated by references herein in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates in general to an electrochromic device and a method for fabricating the same electrochromic device.
Electrochromism is the phenomenon where the color or opacity of a material changes caused by occurrence of new absorption peaks within visible light ranges while the material is experiencing electron transfer or redox (oxidation-reduction) reactions. Such phenomenon is reversible. In other words, the color of the material can be resumed after the material is further applied by another voltage. Since the electrochromic device consumes less electricity, thus can be applied to smart windows for absorbing sunshine, anti-glare rearview mirrors, vehicle sunroofs, electronic papers and so on. Namely, the electrochromic device can be suitable for commercial constructions, residence/office buildings, intelligent homes and the like.
Currently, the electrochromic device is manufactured mostly by expensive magnetron plasma splutters. Since the manufacturing process takes extensive labor time, thus production cost is significantly increased, and product prices can't be reduced. Thereby, the electrochromic device cannot be widely applied for the commercial constructions, residence/office buildings, intelligent homes and the like, and thus the market share thereof would be poor.
Hence, an improvement upon the electrochromic device and the method for fabricating the electrochromic device for resolving the aforesaid shortcomings is definitely urgent and welcome to the skill persons in the art.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide an electrochromic device and a method for fabricating the same electrochromic device, that can reduce process time and production cost, and that can enhance entire performance of the electrochromic device.
In this disclosure, the method for fabricating an electrochromic device includes: a step (a) of depositing a first transparent conductive film on a first substrate; a step (b) of depositing a first mesh conductive structure on the first transparent conductive film; a step (c) of depositing a second transparent conductive film on the first mesh conductive structure; a step (d) of depositing an electrochromic layer on the second transparent conductive film by an arc-plasma process to form a first electrode structure, the electrochromic layer being made of one of WO3 and MoO3; a step (e) of depositing a third transparent conductive film on a second substrate; a step (f) depositing a second mesh conductive structure on the third transparent conductive film; a step (g) of depositing a fourth transparent conductive film on the second mesh conductive structure; a step (h) of forming an ion storage layer on the fourth transparent conductive film to produce a second electrode structure, the ion storage layer being made of Prussian blue; a step (i) of binding together the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure by having the electrochromic layer of the first electrode structure to match the ion storage layer of the second electrode structure; and, a step (j) of forming an electrolyte layer between the electrochromic layer and the ion storage layer so as to produce the electrochromic device.
In one embodiment of this disclosure, the step (b) includes a step (b1) of providing a metal mask onto the first transparent conductive film, the metal mask having a plurality of opening structures; and, a step (b2) of spluttering the metal material onto the metal mask and the first transparent conductive film so as to deposit the metal material into the opening structures for forming the first mesh conductive structure.
In one embodiment of this disclosure, the step (f) includes a step (f1) of providing a metal mask onto the third transparent conductive film, the metal mask having a plurality of opening structures; and, a step (f2) of spluttering the metal material onto the metal mask and the third transparent conductive film so as to deposit the metal material into the opening structures for forming the second mesh conductive structure.
In one embodiment of this disclosure, the step (h) includes a step (h1) of applying a spin coating process to coat a material of the ion storage layer over the fourth transparent conductive film.
In one embodiment of this disclosure, the step (i) includes a step (i1) of turning the first electrode structure upside down so as to have the electrochromic layer of the first electrode structure to face the ion storage layer of the second electrode structure.
In one embodiment of this disclosure, the step (j) includes a step (j1) of binding together the electrochromic layer of the first electrode structure and the ion storage layer of the second electrode structure by producing a fill-up space between the electrochromic layer and the ion storage layer; and, a step (j2) of filling an electrolyte substance into the fill-up space so as to form the electrolyte layer.
In another aspect of this disclosure, an electrochromic device includes a first electrode structure, a second electrode structure and a electrolyte layer. The first electrode structure includes a first substrate, a first transparent conductive film, a first mesh conductive structure, a second transparent conductive film and an electrochromic layer. The first transparent conductive film is disposed between the first substrate and the first mesh conductive structure, the first mesh conductive structure is disposed between the first transparent conductive film and the second transparent conductive film, the second transparent conductive film is disposed between the first mesh conductive structure and the electrochromic layer, the first mesh conductive structure includes a plurality of first conductive wires is disposed between the first transparent conductive film and the second transparent conductive film, the electrochromic layer is disposed on the second transparent conductive film, and the electrochromic layer is made of WO3 or MoO3. The second electrode structure, includes a second substrate, a third transparent conductive film, a second mesh conductive structure, a fourth transparent conductive film and a ion storage layer. The third transparent conductive film is disposed between the second substrate and the second mesh conductive structure, the second mesh conductive structure is disposed between the third transparent conductive film and the fourth transparent conductive film, the fourth transparent conductive film is disposed between the second mesh conductive structure and the ion storage layer, and the ion storage layer is made of Prussian blue. The electrolyte layer is disposed between the electrochromic layer of the first electrode structure and the ion storage layer of the second electrode structure.
In one embodiment of this disclosure, the first conductive wire is made of silver.
In one embodiment of this disclosure, the first mesh conductive structure includes a mesh structure formed by arranging the plurality of first conductive wires.
In one embodiment of this disclosure, the second conductive wire is made of silver.
In one embodiment of this disclosure, the second mesh conductive structure includes a mesh structure forming by arranging the plurality of second conductive wires.
As stated, the electrochromic device and the method for fabricating the same electrochromic device provided by this disclosure, which apply the arc-plasma process to deposit the electrodes of the electrochromic layers, can reduce both the process time and production cost, strengthen the voltage endurance, have better color-changing efficiency, and extend the service life.
Further, the Prussian blue (PB) adopted in this disclosure is used for the electrochromic anode material, in which Prussian blue (PB) matches well withvWO3 or MoO3 in the electrochromic cathode material of the electrochromic layer so as to achieve better optical performance, higher coloring efficiency and a rapid response rate.
In addition, the transparent conductive layer of this disclosure is formed by a three-layer lamination structure having upper and lower transparent conductive films to sandwich a mesh conductive structure. The mesh conductive structure is formed by a plurality of silver-made conductive wires arranged into a specific pattern. Through the conductive wires, the electrode transmission can be performed. Since these conductive wires do not occupy the entire space between the upper and the lower transparent conductive films. In other words, the conductive wires do not utilize the entire area for transmission, but utilize the aforesaid small transmission units formed by arranging the conductive wires. Thereupon, the unexpected high transverse impedance of the electron transport layer (i.e., the transparent conductive layer) can be resolved, and also shortcomings in uneven color-changing and elongated reaction time during the transmission at the entire transparent conductive layer can be substantially improved.
Further scope of applicability of the present application will become more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present disclosure and wherein:
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.
Referring now to
In this embodiment, the first electrode structure A2 includes a first substrate 110, a first transparent conductive film 222, a first mesh conductive structure 224, a second transparent conductive film 226 and an electrochromic layer 130. The first substrate 110 can be made of glass. The first transparent conductive film 222 is disposed between the first substrate 110 and the first mesh conductive structure 224. The first mesh conductive structure 224 is disposed between the first transparent conductive film 222 and the second transparent conductive film 226. The second transparent conductive film 226 is disposed between the first mesh conductive structure 224 and the electrochromic layer 130.
In this embodiment, a transparent conductive electrode layer 220 is formed by laminating orderly the first transparent conductive film 222, the first mesh conductive structure 224 and the second transparent conductive film 226. Each of the first transparent conductive film 222 and the second transparent conductive film 226 can be made of indium tin oxide (ITO). The first mesh conductive structure 224 includes thereinside a plurality of first conductive wires F1 arranged between the first transparent conductive film 222 and the second transparent conductive film 226. In addition, an electrochromic cathode material inside the electrochromic layer 130 is selected from one of WO3 and MoO3.
In this embodiment, the first conductive wire F1 can be made of silver, and thus the first conductive wire F1 can be used for electrode transmission. In addition, the first conductive wires F1 don't fill all the space between the first transparent conductive film 222 and the second transparent conductive film 226. In other words, the first conductive wires F1 don't utilize all the aforesaid space for transmission, but the first conductive wires F1 are arranged for form a plurality of transmission units, as shown in
In this embodiment, the second electrode structure B2 includes the second substrate 140, the third transparent conductive film 252, the second mesh conductive structure 254, the fourth transparent conductive film 256 and the ion storage layer 160. The second substrate 140 can be made of glass. The third transparent conductive film 252 is disposed between the second substrate 140 and the second mesh conductive structure 254. The second mesh conductive structure 254 is disposed between the third transparent conductive film 252 and the fourth transparent conductive film 256. The fourth transparent conductive film 256 is disposed between the second mesh conductive structure 254 and the ion storage layer 160.
In this embodiment, a transparent conductive electrode layer 250 is formed by laminating orderly the third transparent conductive film 252, the second mesh conductive structure 254 and the fourth transparent conductive film 256. Each of the third transparent conductive film 252 and the fourth transparent conductive film 256 can be made of ITO, the second mesh conductive structure 254 includes thereinside a plurality of second conductive wires F2 arranged between the third transparent conductive film 252 and the fourth transparent conductive film 256. In this embodiment, the second conductive wire F2 is made of silver, and thus the second conductive wire F2 can be used for electrode transmission. In addition, the second conductive wires F2 don't fill all the space between the third transparent conductive film 252 and the fourth transparent conductive film 256. In other words, the second conductive wires F2 don't utilize all the aforesaid space for transmission, but the second conductive wires F2 are arranged for form a plurality of transmission units, as shown in
In addition, the ion storage layer 160, having a function for storing ions, is to provide ions during the color-changing process, and an electrochromic anode material of the ion storage layer 160 is Prussian blue. In this embodiment, besides the electrochromic layer 130, the ion storage layer 160 can serve another electrochromic film. Therefore, two different color-changeable materials can be used purposely for the electrochromic layer 130 and the ion storage layer 160 to serve the electrochromic cathode material and the electrochromic anode material, respectively. By setting the electrochromic layer 130 as the transparent end and the ion storage layer 160 as the color end, then by applying positive and negative voltages, the transparent end would enter a color state, and the color end would be decolored or desaturated to enter the transparent state; i.e., a complementary electrochromic device is formed.
In this embodiment, the electrolyte layer 170 is disposed between the electrochromic layer 130 of the first electrode structure A2 and the ion storage layer 160 of the second electrode structure B2, in which the electrolyte layer 170 contains a material of LiClO4—PC.
Under such an arrangement of this embodiment, the electrochromic device 200 can deposit the electrochromic layer 130 by an arc-plasma process. Thus, the voltage endurance can be strengthened, better color-changing performance can be provided, and the service life can be substantially extended. In addition, the electrochromic anode material can be made of Prussian blue (PB), which can match well with the WO3 or MoO3 in the electrochromic cathode material of the electrochromic layer 130, and so better optical properties, excellent coloring efficiency and rapid action response can be obtained.
In addition, the transparent conductive layer of this embodiment is formed by a three-layer lamination structure having upper and lower transparent conductive films to sandwich a mesh conductive structure. The mesh conductive structure is formed by a plurality of silver-made conductive wires arranged into a specific pattern. Through the conductive wires, the electrode transmission can be performed. Since these conductive wires do not occupy the entire space between the upper and the lower transparent conductive films. In other words, the conductive wires do not utilize the entire area for transmission, but utilize the aforesaid small transmission units formed by arranging the conductive wires. Thereupon, the unexpected high transverse impedance of the electron transport layer (i.e., the transparent conductive layer) can be resolved, and also shortcomings in uneven color-changing and elongated reaction time during the transmission at the entire transparent conductive layer can be substantially improved.
Refer now to
Firstly, Step S101 is performed to deposit a first transparent conductive film 222 on a first substrate 110, as shown in
In this embodiment, after the first transparent conductive film 222 is formed onto the first substrate 110, Step S102 is performed to deposit a first mesh conductive structure 224 on the first transparent conductive film 222, as shown in
In this embodiment, the metal mask M has a plurality of opening structures P, and each of the opening structures P is formed as a slot structure. The slot structures are arranged in parallel but perpendicular to the first direction L2. An interval for arranging the opening structures P is determined according to the practical arrangement of the conductive wires. Then, a metal material is sputtered onto the metal mask M and the first transparent conductive film 222 so as to allow the metal material to deposit into the opening structures P, such that the first conductive wires F1 can be formed on the first mesh conductive structure 224, as shown in
For example, the metal mask M is firstly applied to plate a first layer of the conductive wires F11, as shown in
In this embodiment, after the first mesh conductive structure 224 is formed on the first transparent conductive film 222 in the thickness direction L1, then Step S103 is performed to deposit a second transparent conductive film 226 on the first mesh conductive structure 224, as shown in
In this embodiment, the second transparent conductive film 226 is formed on the first mesh conductive structure 224, i.e., arranged in the thickness direction L. After the second transparent conductive film 226 is deposed on the first mesh conductive structure 224, then Step S104 is performed to deposit an electrochromic layer 130 on the second transparent conductive film 226 (as shown in
After the first electrode structure A2 is formed, as shown in
In this embodiment, after the third transparent conductive film 252 is formed on the second substrate 140, then Step S106 is performed to deposit a second mesh conductive structure 254 on the third transparent conductive film 252. The process for spluttering the second mesh conductive structure 254 is similar to that for spluttering the first mesh conductive structure 224. Firstly, the metal mask M having a plurality of opening structures P is provided onto the third transparent conductive film 254. Then, a metal material is spluttered onto the metal mask M and the third transparent conductive film 254 so as to have the metal material to deposit inside the opening structures P for forming the second mesh conductive structure 254. Namely, through the metal mask M and the opening structures P, the second conductive wires F2 of the second mesh conductive structure 254 is formed, as shown in
In this embodiment, after the second mesh conductive structure 254 is formed on the third transparent conductive film 252, then Step S107 is performed to deposit a fourth transparent conductive film 256 on the second mesh conductive structure 254, as shown in
In this embodiment, after the fourth transparent conductive film 256 is formed on the second mesh conductive structure 254, then Step S108 is performed to form an ion storage layer 160 onto the fourth transparent conductive film 256 (as shown in
After the aforesaid first electrode structure A2 and second electrode structure B2 are formed, then Step S109 is performed to bind together the first electrode structure A2 and the second electrode structure B2 by having the electrochromic layer 130 of the first electrode structure A2 to face the ion storage layer 160 of the second electrode structure B2, as shown in
Under such an arrangement, since the electrochromic layer 130 is mainly made by high melting point targets, in comparison with the conventional electrochromic layer 130 produced by the magnetron plasma splutter, the method for fabricating the electrochromic device S100 provided by this disclosure introduces the arc-plasma process to deposit the electrochromic layer 130. In comparison to 5% in the ionization rate of plating material for conventional splutters, the ionization rate of plating material for the arc-plasma process can be lifted up to a range of 65˜90%. with the boosting in the ionization rate of plating material, the process time can be shortened, the production cost can be reduced, and the properties of the electrochromic layer 130 can be improved by strengthening the voltage endurance, increasing the color-changing efficiency, and prolonging the service life.
Besides, since the electrochromic anode material of the aforesaid embodiment is Prussian blue (PB), which matches well with the electrochromic cathode material of the electrochromic layer 130, thus better optical performance, higher coloring efficiency and a rapid response rate can be obtained.
In summary, the electrochromic device and the method for fabricating the same electrochromic device provided by this disclosure, which apply the arc-plasma process to deposit the electrodes of the electrochromic layers, can reduce both the process time and production cost, strengthen the voltage endurance, have better color-changing efficiency, and extend the service life.
Further, the Prussian blue (PB) adopted in this disclosure is used for the electrochromic anode material, in which Prussian blue (PB) matches well withvWO3 or MoO3 in the electrochromic cathode material of the electrochromic layer so as to achieve better optical performance, higher coloring efficiency and a rapid response rate.
In addition, the transparent conductive layer of this disclosure is formed by a three-layer lamination structure having upper and lower transparent conductive films to sandwich a mesh conductive structure. The mesh conductive structure is formed by a plurality of silver-made conductive wires arranged into a specific pattern. Through the conductive wires, the electrode transmission can be performed. Since these conductive wires do not occupy the entire space between the upper and the lower transparent conductive films. In other words, the conductive wires do not utilize the entire area for transmission, but utilize the aforesaid small transmission units formed by arranging the conductive wires. Thereupon, the unexpected high transverse impedance of the electron transport layer (i.e., the transparent conductive layer) can be resolved, and also shortcomings in uneven color-changing and elongated reaction time during the transmission at the entire transparent conductive layer can be substantially improved.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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108134401 | Sep 2019 | TW | national |