Effect of sputtering gas pressure on the performance of WO3 thin films electrochromic device

Abstract

WO3 films were deposited on transparent conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) glass under different working pressure conditions via radio frequency magnetron sputtering technology, and their electrochromic properties were studied. The morphology, electrochromic cyclic voltammetry characteristics, and light modulation properties of the films were studied using a scanning electron microscope, an electrochemical test station, and an ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer. The transmittance modulation amplitude increases first and then decreases with the change of sputtering gas pressure, reaching the maximum transmittance modulation amplitude at 1.0 Pa. For the response time, the increase in sputtering gas pressure also shows a change of shortening and then increasing. By comprehensively considering the stability of the transmittance modulation amplitude and the stability of the response time, it can be found that as the sputtering gas pressure increases, the stability of the device’s electrochromic performance increases first and then decreases. Therefore, the sputtering gas pressure needs to be maintained in a relatively reasonable range. When it is too high or too low, it is not conducive to achieving good stability.