Electrochromic element, a display device provided with same and a method of manufacturing an electrochromic layer
First Claim
1. An electrochromic element (20) comprising a substrate (28) and an electrochromic layer (25) having a thickness d on the basis of a metal oxide selected from the group consisting of tungsten oxide, molybdenum oxide, niobium oxide, manganese oxide and zirconium oxide and combinations thereof, the transmission properties of the electrochromic layer in the visible range being governed by an applied voltage difference across the electrochromic layer, characterized in that the oxygen content in the electrochromic layer (25) varies across the thickness of said electrochromic layer such that at least one local maximum is formed.
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Abstract
The electrochromic element (20) comprises a substrate (28) and an electrochromic layer (25) having a thickness d on the basis of a metal oxide selected from the group formed by tungsten oxide, molybdenum oxide, niobium oxide, manganese oxide and zirconium oxide, or combinations thereof. The electrochromic layer (25) is characterized in that the oxygen content in the layer (25) varies across the thickness d of the layer (25). Preferably, the variation of the oxygen content in the layer (25) comprises at least two local maxima and a local minimum. Preferably, the electrochromic layer (25) is composed of a plurality of sub-layers (25'"'"', 25", 25'"'"'"), with the variation of the oxygen content in the layer (25) occurring predominantly at the location of transitions between two sub-layers. Preferably, the electrochromic layer (25) comprises the metal oxide tungsten oxide WOx. The electrochromic element may be provided on the display screen of a display device. A description is given of a method of manufacturing the electrochromic layer (25).
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Citations
16 Claims
- 1. An electrochromic element (20) comprising a substrate (28) and an electrochromic layer (25) having a thickness d on the basis of a metal oxide selected from the group consisting of tungsten oxide, molybdenum oxide, niobium oxide, manganese oxide and zirconium oxide and combinations thereof, the transmission properties of the electrochromic layer in the visible range being governed by an applied voltage difference across the electrochromic layer, characterized in that the oxygen content in the electrochromic layer (25) varies across the thickness of said electrochromic layer such that at least one local maximum is formed.
- 9. A method of manufacturing an electrochromic layer (25) on the basis of a metal oxide selected from the group consisting of tungsten oxide, molybdenum oxide, niobium oxide, manganese oxide and zirconium oxide, and combinations thereof, the transmission properties of the electrochromic layer in the visible range being governed by an applied voltage difference across the electrochromic layer, said electrochromic layer being provided by means of a sputter-deposition process in an evacuated chamber, characterized in that during the provision of the electrochromic layer (25), the oxygen content in the chamber is varied to vary the oxygen content across the thickness of the electrochromic layer.
Specification