Electrochromic Substrate Lithiation Defect Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Smart glass electrochromic (EC) devices often suffer from visual defects such as blue dots or areas during manufacturing, which affect their ability to change tint and render them unsuitable for use, leading to additional manufacturing steps or disposal, resulting in wasted resources and time.
Innovation Solution
A manufacturing process that uses lithium (Li) targets for depositing Li tungsten-oxide layers on substrates, with a method to remove excess Li from chamber walls to prevent contamination, ensuring no more than 1.50% of EC devices have visually inconsistent Li deposits, thereby minimizing defects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If Li targets are used for depositing Li tungsten-oxide layers during EC device manufacturing, then the active layer can be properly lithiated to enable tint changing functionality, but Li contamination on chamber walls causes over-concentrated Li deposits that create visual defects (blue dots)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes contaminated Li-containing materials from the chamber walls using shields and cleaning processes. The shields are positioned to intercept Li deposits on chamber walls, and the shields are subsequently removed and cleaned to eliminate the contamination source, thereby preventing blue dot defects while maintaining functional Li deposition on the active layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces shields as intermediary components between the Li targets and the chamber walls. These shields act as mediators that intercept Li deposits before they contaminate the chamber walls, preventing the formation of over-concentrated Li deposits that would cause visual defects, while allowing functional Li deposition to proceed on the substrate.
2Productivity
If Li deposition is performed to lithiate the active layer, then the EC device can change tint, but excess Li accumulates on chamber walls causing contamination and defects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful Li contamination on chamber walls into a beneficial process by using shields to intercept and collect the Li deposits. The shields are then removed and cleaned, transforming the contamination problem into a manageable cleaning step that maintains high manufacturing rates while eliminating the source of visual defects.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent discards the contaminated shields after they have served their purpose of intercepting Li deposits. The shields are removed from the chamber and cleaned or replaced, eliminating the accumulated Li contamination while allowing the deposition process to continue at high productivity without compromising product quality.
3Productivity
If continuous Li deposition is performed on substrates, then manufacturing efficiency is maintained, but Li builds up on chamber walls creating sources of contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by positioning shields in the chamber before Li deposition begins. These shields are pre-positioned to intercept Li deposits on chamber walls, preventing contamination before it occurs. This preliminary setup allows continuous deposition to proceed efficiently without interruption while preventing Li material waste through contamination.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process significantly reduces the occurrence of visual defects in EC devices, allowing for the production of high-quality products with minimal waste and maintaining a high manufacturing rate, ensuring that only a small percentage of devices have Li deposits that are over-concentrated relative to surrounding areas.
Implementation Method 1
The active layer is lithiated using a deposition process that uses one or more lithium (Li) targets. The deposition process provides a Li tungsten-oxide deposit area on the substrate
Implementation Method 2
When the respective active layer(s) are lithiated in the chamber, Li from the one or more Li targets is deposited onto a surface of one or more interior walls of the chamber
Data Source
AI summary
An electrochromic (EC) device includes a substrate and a plurality of layers formed on the substrate. The plurality of layers includes an active layer that is lithiated for changing a tint of the EC device. The active layer is lithiated using a deposition process that uses one or more lithium (Li) targets. The deposition process provides, on no more than 1.5% of manufactured EC devices, a Li tungsten-oxide deposit area on the substrate that is over-concentrated with Li relative to a surrounding area on the substrate. In some aspects, the EC device may be a component of an EC system that further includes a power supply electrically connected to the EC device and configured to provide a voltage to the EC device for controlling a tint of the EC device.