2012 Volume 53 Issue 4 Pages 676-680
We fabricated electrochromic switchable mirror glass with a Pd–Ag alloy proton injection layer to investigate the relationship between the composition of the proton injection layer and the optical switching properties, in an attempt to reduce the cost and the amount of palladium used in the fabrication of these devices. The composition of the layer was easily controlled by co-sputtering of palladium and silver metal targets with various power ratios. A device with a Pd86Ag14 layer showed the maximum transmittance in the transparent state, and similar switching speed between the reflective and transparent states to a palladium-only reference device. Changing the silver content in the layer effectively controlled the reflectance of the device. The maximum reflectance in the reflective state increased with increasing silver content, due to the high reflectance of silver. However, the maximum transmittance in the transparent state decreased, and the high silver content prevented smooth switching of the device. In this work, although Pd86Ag14 displayed the best properties as a proton injection layer, the performance was insufficient for commercial use. Therefore, more suitable fabrication conditions and proton injection materials will be the subject of future investigation.
