Effect of argon to oxygen ratio on the properties of tungsten oxide films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, tungsten oxide films were deposited on ITO-coated glass by DC magnetron sputtering at different argon to oxygen ratio (30:10, 40:10, 50:10, 60:10, 70:10, 80:10). The microstructure was analyzed by means of XRD and SEM. The electro-chromic properties were analyzed by UV-Vis and electrochemical workstation. The results show that the electrochromic properties of tungsten oxide films can be con-trolled by changing the ratio of argon to oxygen. When the ratio of argon to oxygen is 50:10, the electrochromic property is the best. The optical modulation amplitude of the films prepared under this process reached 56.92%, the response time from the colored state to the bleached state was the shortest (tc=5.8s, tb=3.4s), and there was a maximum coloring efficiency (CE=52.5 cm2/C). After 600 cycles, the attenuation degree of cyclic voltammetry curve is the smallest, indicating that its cyclic stability effect is the best. This work offers an important reference value for the development of high-performance electrochromic films via magnetron sputtering engineering techniques.