FABRICATION OF LOW DEFECTIVITY ELECTROCHROMIC DEVICES

• Main Authors: Rozbicki, Robert T, Kozlowski, Mark, Dixon, Jeremy A, Pradhan, Anshu A, Kurman, Eric W, Wang, Zhongchun, Scobey, Mike
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 23.04.2020
• Subjects: APPLYING LIQUIDS OR OTHER FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL; CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GLASSES, GLAZES, OR VITREOUSENAMELS; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY IONIMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS, THE OPTICAL OPERATION OF WHICH ISMODIFIED BY CHANGING THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIUM OF THEDEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF THE INTENSITY,COLOUR, PHASE, POLARISATION OR DIRECTION OF LIGHT, e.g.SWITCHING, GATING, MODULATING OR DEMODULATING; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; FREQUENCY-CHANGING; GLASS; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; JOINING GLASS TO GLASS OR OTHER MATERIALS; MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; METALLURGY; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICS; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; PROCESSES FOR APPLYING LIQUIDS OR OTHER FLUENT MATERIALS TOSURFACES, IN GENERAL; SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF FIBRES OR FILAMENTS MADE FROM GLASS,MINERALS OR SLAGS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF GLASS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THESURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; TECHNIQUES OR PROCEDURES FOR THE OPERATION THEREOF; TRANSPORTING; WELDING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM

Prior electrochromic devices frequently suffer from high levels of defectivity. The defects may be manifest as pin holes or spots where the electrochromic transition is impaired. This is unacceptable for many applications such as electrochromic architectural glass. Improved electrochromic devices with low defectivity can be fabricated by depositing certain layered components of the electrochromic device in a single integrated deposition system. While these layers are being deposited and/or treated on a substrate, for example a glass window, the substrate never leaves a controlled ambient environment, for example a low pressure controlled atmosphere having very low levels of particles. These layers may be deposited using physical vapor deposition.