Electrochromic and optical properties of tungsten oxide films deposited with DC sputtering by introducing hydrogen

Research was undertaken to investigate the electrochromic and optical properties of tungsten oxide (WO3) films deposited by introducing hydrogen with a direct current (DC) and pulsed DC sputtering. The results show that WO3 films have optimum electrochromic properties at a hydrogen flow of 4 and 3 sccm for DC and pulsed DC, respectively. In the Raman spectra, the peak intensity increased with the increase of hydrogen flow at both 770 cm1 and 950 cm(-1) peaks, which resulted in bonds of W(6+)-O and W(6+)=O, respectively. Simultaneously, the transmittance (ΔT550 nm) variations were 65.6% and 64.4%, and the average transmittance (ΔT400-500 nm) variations were 56.7% and 56.4% for DC and pulsed DC, respectively. The bleached/colored ability of the cyclic voltammograms (CVs) was DC>pulsed DC, and the resistances of AC impedance were pulsed DC>DC.