Magnetron Sputtering of Tantalum Oxide Thin Electrolyte Film for Electrochromic Applications

Electrochromism have been widely investigated due to their potential applications such as automobile and building window. In this study, tantalum oxide thin films used as ion conducting layer were deposited on WO3/ITO at room temperature by magnetron sputtering. The thickness of tantalum oxide films were varied to investigate their effects on composition, microstructure, optical properties, and electrochromic properties determined by X-ray diffraction, UV-visible spectrometer, Atomic force microscope (AFM), and field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Experimental results indicated Ta2O5 at thickness of 300 nm with low packing density were favorable for ions transmission deposited on WO3/ITO had better electrochromic property.