High Rate Deposition of Nickel Oxide Electrochromic Thin Films by Reactive DC Magnetron Sputtering

Nickel oxide electrochromic thin films were prepared by reactive DC magnetron sputtering. As-deposited optical property and electrochromic behavior strongly depended on the target operation mode and the substrate temperature. In the condition of low oxygen flow ratio (∼1%), the deposition rate can be raised up to 40 nm/min at the power of 60 W. The sample with the deposition rate of 30 nm/min exhibited the best electrochromic performance when the substrate temperature was kept to 200°C-300°C during sputtering. The integrated luminous transmittance of the best sample could be controlled from 6.6% to 82.3%.