Electrochromic device, electrochromic product and lens assembly

Abstract

The utility model provides an electrochromic device, an electrochromic product and a lens assembly. The electrochromic device comprises a transparent substrate and an electrochromic functional composite layer formed on one side of the transparent substrate, and the electrochromic functional composite layer comprises a first conductive layer, an electrochromic layer, an ion conduction layer and a second conductive layer which are sequentially formed on one side of the transparent substrate. According to the utility model, the thickness of the electrochromic device is reduced by only arranging the single-side substrate, so that the electrochromic device is more suitable for application in the consumer electronics field. And meanwhile, the light transmittance of the electrochromic device is improved. When the substrate is applied to a specific product, one side without the substrate is attached to or packaged with a product body, and the body can replace the support and protection effect of the removed substrate. Meanwhile, due to the fact that an additional substrate is not needed, the electrochromic device further has better fitting performance and can be used for a non-planar surface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of electrochromism, and particularly relates to an electrochromic device, an electrochromic product and a lens assembly. Background Art

[0002] Electrochromic technology can be applied to many fields, such as automobile sunroofs, aircraft windows, building facades, etc. In the field of consumer electronics, at present, electrochromic technology has only made initial attempts in the field of rear cover decoration, and it also has good application prospects in cameras. If there is a suitable color-changing technology, the electrochromic device in front of the camera can achieve the following effects: 1. The electro-control dimming effect, which can adjust the transmittance through voltage, so as to control the light flux entering the exposure unit of the camera and change the imaging effect; 2. The electrochromic device can functionally hide the camera in the black state, realizing the anti-peeping function without physical occlusion, thus avoiding the privacy anxiety of users.

[0003] Comparative documents CN202310014622, CN202122394604, and CN202310500922 describe a class of electrochromic devices applied in cooperation with lenses, all of which adopt double-layer glass substrates. As a structural member, the thickness of the substrate accounts for the main part of the thickness of the electrochromic device. Therefore, the electrochromic device with double-layer glass substrates is generally relatively thick. If it is applied in the field of consumer electronics, this is not conducive to the thin and light of electronic products. Moreover, the double-layer glass substrate will also affect the light transmittance of the device, and then affect the light transmittance of the lens of the electronic product. The existing above-mentioned technologies generally adopt the structure of filling liquid in the middle and sealing the frame glue around to realize device encapsulation. The disadvantage of this encapsulation process is that only a relatively narrow frame glue can be used to realize the structural connection between the two substrates. In the case of dropping impact of the mobile phone, etc., the frame glue is easy to come off, resulting in leakage of the inner liquid active layer or electrolyte, causing functional damage and polluting other devices. Summary of the Utility Model

[0004] In order to optimize and improve the thickness and light transmittance effect of the electrochromic device when applied in the field of consumer electronics, the utility model provides an electrochromic device, an electrochromic product and a lens assembly.

[0005] The electrochromic device of the utility model comprises a transparent substrate and an electrochromic functional composite layer formed on one side of the transparent substrate. The electrochromic functional composite layer comprises a first conductive layer, an electrochromic layer, an ion conduction layer, a counter electrode layer and a second conductive layer formed in sequence on one side of the transparent substrate.

[0006] Preferably, it further comprises a packaging material, and the packaging material forms a covering structure covering one side and the peripheral side of the electrochromic functional composite layer, forms a closed area with the transparent substrate, and completely encloses the electrochromic functional composite layer.

[0007] Preferably, the thickness of the electrochromic layer is 200 to 600 nm.

[0008] Preferably, the material of the electrochromic layer is tungsten oxide doped with aluminum, tungsten oxide doped with molybdenum, tungsten oxide doped with niobium, or tungsten oxide doped with titanium.

[0009] Preferably, the electrochromic functional composite layer further includes an ion blocking layer, and the ion blocking layer is formed between the transparent substrate and the first conductive layer.

[0010] Preferably, the ion blocking layer is an oxide of silicon, aluminum or titanium or a nitride of silicon, aluminum or titanium.

[0011] Preferably, the thickness of the counter electrode layer is 100 to 400 nm.

[0012] Preferably, the material of the counter electrode layer is nickel oxide doped with aluminum, nickel oxide doped with silicon, nickel oxide doped with tungsten, or nickel oxide doped with tungsten and silicon.

[0013] Preferably, a first antireflection layer is further included and is disposed on the opposite surface of the transparent substrate with respect to the electrochromic functional composite layer.

[0014] Preferably, the refractive index of the first antireflection layer is 1.1 to 1.4, and the thickness is 30 to 500 nm.

[0015] Preferably, a second antireflection layer is further included and is disposed between the second conductive layer and the encapsulating material.

[0016] Preferably, the refractive index of the second antireflection layer is 1.6 to 1.8, and the thickness is 30 to 500 nm.

[0017] Preferably, any layer in the electrochromic functional composite layer is a solid-state adhesion layer.

[0018] The present utility model provides an electrochromic product, including a body, and further including the electrochromic device according to any one of the above, and the electrochromic device has the second conductive layer facing the side attached to the body.

[0019] The present utility model provides a lens assembly, including a lens, and further including the electrochromic device according to any one of the above, and the electrochromic device is attached to the lens, and the second conductive layer faces the side attached to the lens.

[0020] The present utility model reduces the thickness of the electrochromic device by only providing a single-sided substrate, making it more suitable for applications in the field of consumer electronics. At the same time, this also helps to improve the light transmittance of the electrochromic device. When it is applied to a specific product, the side without the substrate is attached or encapsulated to the product body, and the body can replace the support and protection functions of the removed substrate. And at the same time, since no additional substrate is required, the electrochromic device also has better conformability and can be used on non-planar surfaces. Each layer in the electrochromic functional composite layer of the electrochromic device of the present utility model is a solid adhesion layer formed by magnetron sputtering or other methods, rather than a traditional liquid layer, so there is no need to worry about problems such as liquid leakage caused by dropping or other reasons. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the electrochromic device of the present utility model;

[0022] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the electrochromic product of the present utility model;

[0023] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an improved embodiment of the electrochromic device of the present utility model.

[0024] In the figure:

[0025] 1: electrochromic device; 11: transparent substrate; 12: first conductive layer; 13: electrochromic layer; 14: ion conduction layer; 15: second conductive layer; 16: counter electrode layer; 17: ion barrier layer; 18: first antireflection layer; 19: second antireflection layer; 21: encapsulation material; W1: lens. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0026] The following combines the drawings and specific embodiments to detail the present utility model. In this specification, the drawing size ratio does not represent the actual size ratio. It only serves to reflect the relative positional relationship and connection relationship between components. Components with the same name or the same reference numeral represent similar or the same structures, and are for illustrative purposes only.

[0027] Existing electrochromic devices for the consumer electronics field still inherit the structure and packaging process of traditional electrochromic devices. Traditional electrochromic devices generally use a double-layer substrate to support and protect the internal functional structure formed by an electrode layer, an electrochromic layer, an electrolyte layer, etc. The traditional applications of electrochromic technology mainly focus on fields such as windows and displays. Compared with the consumer electronics field, these application fields have relatively low requirements for the characteristics of electrochromic devices other than the color-changing function, are not sensitive to the thickness of electrochromic devices, and have low requirements for their light transmittance. In the consumer electronics field, taking mobile phones as an example, major manufacturers still regard the thin and light body and beautiful appearance as one of the selling points. These requirements may all be affected by the thickness of the electrochromic device. Therefore, it is more sensitive to the thickness of the electrochromic device. Moreover, in the consumer electronics field, in addition to being used for decoration, electrochromic technology can also be used in functional components such as displays and cameras. Compared with large-scale windows and displays, these functions have more stringent requirements for the light transmittance of the device.

[0028] The electrochromic technology applied to cameras and the like should have the following characteristics: 1. High transmittance in the transparent state, higher than 90%; 2. Good color neutrality, whether in the colored state or the transparent state; 3. Considering the extreme control of thickness and weight in consumer electronics products, the device needs to be as thin and light as possible; 4. Non-toxic, harmless, and non-corrosive; 5. Fast response and rapid color change. On January 7, 2020, OnePlus released a concept phone - ConceptOne at the North American CES show. Its biggest highlight is the use of electrochromic technology to completely hide the rear camera. However, this application scenario has not been mass-produced, mainly for two reasons: 1. In the viologen route, due to the absence of an ion barrier layer, the device has no memory effect, and the color-changing device needs to continuously apply voltage, resulting in high power consumption. 2. In the viologen route, the viologen material used has the same main structure as "paraquat", which is 1,1-dialkyl (oxy)-4,4'-bipyridine, and is highly toxic and not suitable for carrying and using.

[0029] The present utility model provides an electrochromic device for the consumer electronics field. The structural schematic diagram can be seen in Figure 1 , and the basic structure only uses a single-layer transparent substrate 11 on one side to support and package the functional layer. The reason is high transmittance and tolerance to the high temperature that may exist in the process. Specifically, an electrochromic functional composite layer is formed on one side of the transparent substrate 11. The electrochromic functional composite layer sequentially forms a first conductive layer 12, an electrochromic layer 13, an ion conduction layer 14, and a second conductive layer 15 from the inside out.

[0030] The material of the transparent substrate can be transparent polymer materials such as PC and PMMA, or film substrates such as COP and PET. Preferably, it is glass. The first conductive layer and the second conductive layer have a thickness range of 100 - 600 nm, and their materials can be transparent conductive oxides such as indium tin oxide, fluorine-doped tin oxide, zinc gallium oxide, indium gallium tin oxide, aluminum zinc oxide, etc.; or a composite conductive layer composed of a transparent conductive oxide layer and a metal layer, which essentially acts as a conductive electrode.

[0031] The electrochromic layer has a thickness range of 200 - 600 nm, and its material can be achieved by existing materials such as aluminum-doped tungsten oxide, molybdenum-doped tungsten oxide, niobium-doped tungsten oxide, titanium-doped tungsten oxide, etc. Its function is that when lithium ions enter its lattice to achieve doping, a color change effect can be achieved.

[0032] The ion conduction layer has a thickness range of 20 - 300 nm and can be one or a mixture of silicon oxide, tungsten oxide, niobium oxide, tantalum oxide, and titanium oxide. Its function is to block the electron transfer between the electrochromic layer and the ion conduction layer, but allow lithium ions to be transported under the drive of an electric field.

[0033] The counter electrode layer 16 is formed between the ion conduction layer 14 and the second conductive layer 15. Its material can be achieved by nickel oxide doped with aluminum, nickel oxide doped with silicon, nickel oxide doped with tungsten, or tungsten-silicon doped nickel oxide, and the thickness is preferably in the range of 100 - 400 nm. The counter electrode layer 16 can accept lithium ions transmitted from the ion conduction layer 14 to achieve an electrochromic effect. Both the counter electrode layer 16 and the electrochromic layer 13 have an electrochromic effect, forming a complementary electrochromic device to enhance the final presentation effect.

[0034] The specific doping materials in the electrochromic functional composite layer belong to mature materials in the prior art. Generally, the above electrochromic functional composite layer can be considered to be formed by magnetron sputtering coating technology. The technical solution of this application does not limit its specific material components, but only lies in forming a doped material layer existing in the prior art. Generally, for the electrochromic functional composite layer formed by magnetron sputtering coating technology or other film-forming technologies, it has good adhesion and can meet the transportation conditions. Therefore, it can be considered to supply in the form of an electrochromic functional device with a single substrate attached with an electrochromic functional composite layer. Of course, it also needs to be considered that since the electrochromic functional composite layer is directly exposed to the air, there will also be certain problems. For example, the formed electrochromic functional composite layer is usually sensitive to water, easily absorbs water and gets damp, which will affect the performance. Therefore, higher requirements are put forward for both storage conditions and transportation conditions. Generally, it is required to take perfect drying and moisture-proof measures when packaging the device, such as putting desiccants in the package.

[0035] To simplify the storage and transportation of the device, the device can be preliminarily encapsulated on the basis of attaching the electrochromic functional layer to a single substrate, that is, using a certain encapsulation material 21 to preliminarily encapsulate the electrochromic functional composite layer on the transparent substrate 11. The encapsulation material 21 can generally be selected from optical adhesives, resin products, etc. The composition of the optical adhesive generally also includes resin for molding and curing, and it may also contain other components to ensure specific properties during the curing process, such as shrinkage rate, etc. After the encapsulation material is cured, a covering structure covering one side and the peripheral side of the electrochromic functional composite layer is formed. The cured encapsulation material 21 and the transparent substrate 11 form a closed area, completely enclosing the electrochromic functional composite layer therein, thereby avoiding performance problems caused by the contact of the electrochromic functional composite layer with the outside world.

[0036] Based on the above electrochromic device with a single substrate, functional products with electrochromic functions can be manufactured, and these products include but are not limited to optical lenses, optical lenses, display devices, product casings, etc. The following embodiments give the implementation manners of the electrochromic device with a single substrate for lenses. For its use in other products, the situation is similar. Refer to Figure 2 the embodiments of, attach the formed electrochromic device 1 with a single substrate to the product body to form a corresponding electrochromic product. For example, attach the electrochromic device 1 to a lens to form products such as a lens assembly with electrochromic function. The method of attaching the electrochromic device 1 to the lens W1 is generally achieved through an adhesive process. In fact, when attaching, the transparent substrate faces outward, and the second conductive layer 15 faces the side attached to the body. At this time, the body also partially plays a protective role. For the lens assembly, the encapsulation material 21 that may be used in the process of preparing the electrochromic device 1 is used to bond the electrochromic device 1 and the lens W1. Among them, commonly used ones are adhesives such as optical adhesives. The entire electrochromic device 1 can be adhered to the original lens surface with an optical adhesive, and the sum of the thicknesses of all the film layers does not exceed 1.5 microns. The thickness of the optical adhesive can be made 25 - 50 microns, and the thickness of the transparent substrate can be made 0.15 - 0.4 mm. Compared with the electrochromic device 1 with two substrates on both sides, this can provide better adhesion and simplify the structure and process of the electrochromic device 1. Moreover, since there is no substrate on the bonding side, this can be adapted to products such as non-planar lens lenses.

[0037] The lens W1 of the electrochromic device 1 with a single-sided substrate or other functional products mentioned above are equivalent to presenting electrochromic products with a new structural layer. It has a single-sided substrate and uses inorganic oxides to implement all electrochromic functional layers. It can be attached to the module of the original lens product in a fully bonded manner with an optical adhesive. Its characteristics are low thickness, high strength, high transmittance, good color neutrality, and good adhesion. Similar electrochromic products are suitable for application scenarios such as being paired with cameras, flashlights, etc. Since all the internal electrochromic functional composite layers are solid film layers and there is no liquid medium, its sealing performance is good and the structure is well encapsulated, which can withstand high-strength structural tests such as drop tests and drum tests, facilitating the improvement of the drop resistance performance of consumer electronic products.

[0038] Figure 3 An embodiment of further improvement of the electrochromic device 1 is given, which can provide a more excellent electrochromic device.

[0039] Firstly, it can be considered to add an ion blocking layer 17 in the electrochromic functional composite layer. The ion blocking layer is formed between the transparent substrate 11 and the first conductive layer 12. The material of the ion blocking layer 17 can be oxides or nitrides of silicon, aluminum, or titanium.

[0040] Its function is to prevent impurity ions such as Na+ and K+ in the glass substrate from entering the electrochromic film layer and irreversibly occupying the color-changing sites in the lattice of the color-changing material, resulting in the loss of the color-changing ability of the film layer.

[0041] Finally, it can be considered to provide an antireflection layer on at least one side of the electrochromic device 1 to improve the light transmittance of the electrochromic device 1. It can be considered to set a first antireflection layer 18 on the opposite surface of the transparent substrate 11 to the electrochromic functional composite layer. Its function is to reduce the reflectivity at the interface between the transparent substrate and the air layer, and its refractive index is between 1.1 and 1.4; its material can be silicon oxide, silicon aluminum oxide, etc. The thickness range is 30 - 500 nm. It is also possible to form a second antireflection layer 19 on the surface of the second conductive layer 15 before encapsulation, that is, between the second conductive layer 15 and the encapsulation material 21. Its function is to reduce the reflectivity at the interface between the second conductive layer 15 and the optical adhesive layer, and its refractive index is between 1.6 and 1.8; its material can be aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, silicon aluminum oxide, etc., and the thickness range is 30 - 500 nm.

[0042] The above content only describes the preferred embodiments of the present invention and does not limit the scope of the present invention. Without departing from the design spirit of the present invention, various deformations and improvements made by those of ordinary skill in the art to the technical solutions of the present invention should fall within the protection scope determined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electrochromic device, characterized in that: It comprises a transparent substrate (11) and an electrochromic functional composite layer formed on one side of the transparent substrate (11), wherein the electrochromic functional composite layer comprises a first conductive layer (12), an electrochromic layer (13), an ion conductive layer (14), a counter electrode layer (16), and a second conductive layer (15) which are sequentially formed on one side of the transparent substrate (11); Any layer in the electrochromic functional composite layer is a solid adhesion layer.

2. The electrochromic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a packaging material (21), which forms a coating structure covering one side and the surrounding side of the electrochromic functional composite layer, and forms a closed area with the transparent substrate (11), thereby completely sealing the electrochromic functional composite layer.

3. The electrochromic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the electrochromic layer (13) is aluminum-doped tungsten oxide, molybdenum-doped tungsten oxide, niobium-doped tungsten oxide or titanium-doped tungsten oxide.

4. The electrochromic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the counter electrode layer (16) is aluminum-doped nickel oxide, silicon-doped nickel oxide, tungsten-doped nickel oxide, or tungsten-silicon-doped nickel oxide.

5. The electrochromic device according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a first anti-reflection layer (18) arranged on the surface of the transparent substrate (11) opposite to the electrochromic functional composite layer.

6. The electrochromic device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first anti-reflection layer (18) has a refractive index of 1.1-1.4 and a thickness of 30-500 nm.

7. The electrochromic device according to claim 5, characterized in that: It also includes a second anti-reflection layer (19) arranged between the second conductive layer (15) and the packaging material (21).

8. The electrochromic device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The refractive index of the second anti-reflection layer (19) is 1.6-1.8, and the thickness is 30-500 nm.

9. An electrochromic product, characterized in that: The invention comprises a body and an electrochromic device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the second conductive layer (15) of the electrochromic device faces a side attached to the body.

10. A lens assembly, characterized in that: It comprises a lens (W1) and also comprises an electrochromic device as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the electrochromic device is attached to the lens (W1), and the second conductive layer (15) faces the side attached to the lens (W1).

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