JPH08201855A - Method for manufacturing electrochromic mirror - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Objective] To provide a simple method for manufacturing an EC mirror having high durability. [Structure] The electrochromic layer (1
5. A method for producing an electrochromic mirror, which comprises forming 5) and then forming a transparent electrode (2) on the electrochromic layer (15).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electrochromic mirror.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electrochromism is a phenomenon in which absorption of light by a substance is changed by electrochemical redox upon application of a current or an electric field, and the substance is reversibly colored or color-changed. A substance that exhibits this phenomenon is called an electrochromic (EC) substance, and a substance that electrochemically manipulates this change and changes the color of the EC substance is E
It is a C element.

Specific examples of EC substances include solid substances such as alkali halides (eg LiF, NaCl, KCl) and transition metal oxides (eg WO ₃ , MoO ₃ , TiO ₂ ) and liquid substances such as viologen compounds. Are known.

At present, tungsten trioxide (WO ₃ ) is widely used as a transition metal oxide. When this tungsten trioxide is reduced, it changes from colorless to blue.
Therefore, this tungsten trioxide was molded as a thin film on a transparent electrode, an electrochemical cell was assembled, and when a voltage was applied to the tungsten trioxide to a negative voltage, the tungsten trioxide film became blue, and when the polarity was reversed, it became colorless and transparent. Become.
When this is applied to glass, EC glass (light control glass) in which the light transmittance of the glass can be arbitrarily controlled by voltage operation is obtained. Also, in this EC glass, by using a reflective material such as aluminum for one of the transparent electrodes, an EC mirror whose reflectance can be switched by voltage operation can be obtained.

In the conventional EC mirror, a lead-out portion is provided for supplying an external power source to the electrodes. Since the lead-out portion is exposed without being sealed, peeling of the lead-out portion or corrosion of the metal electrode occurs. There was a problem. In order to solve such a problem, in Japanese Utility Model Publication 5-5536,
An EC mirror as shown in FIG. 2 has been devised. In FIG. 2, 7 is a reflective substrate, 5 is a reduction coloring EC layer, 4 is an ion conductive layer, 3 is a reversible electrolytic oxidation layer, and 2 is a transparent electrode. These are a transparent electrode (ITO), a reversible electrolytic oxidation layer (IrO _x ), an ion conductive layer (Ta ₂ O) on the substrate 11.
₅ ), a reducing coloring EC layer (WO ₃ ) and a reflective substrate (Al) are laminated in this order, and then the sealing material 12 and the sealing substrate 14 are attached on the upper surface except at least a part of each electrode. It In this way, an attempt is made to solve the above problem by mounting the clip and connecting the external wiring through the clip to seal the end surface of the metal electrode.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned E
In manufacturing the C mirror, ITO film formation, IrO _x film formation,
Each of the Ta ₂ O ₅ film forming process, the WO ₃ film forming process, and the Al film forming process must be performed in a vacuum.
Productivity was not always sufficient in terms of electric power for operating vacuum equipment.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional EC mirror and to provide an improved method for manufacturing an EC mirror having excellent productivity.

[0008]

The method for manufacturing an electrochromic mirror of the present invention is characterized by forming an electrochromic layer on a reflective substrate and then forming a transparent electrode on the electrochromic layer. is there.

[0009]

In contrast to the conventional method, the method of the present invention does not require a sealing substrate because each layer is formed on the reflective substrate, and therefore requires fewer film forming steps than the conventional method, thus improving productivity. Is excellent in.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An EC mirror manufactured by the method of the present invention is shown in FIG. First, the EC layer 15 is formed on the reflective substrate 7. This reflective substrate also functions as an electrode, for example gold,
Metals such as silver, aluminum, chromium, tin, zinc, nickel, ruthenium, rhodium and stainless steel can be used. The EC layer may be a laminated structure which is usually used, and is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a reduction coloring EC layer / ion conductive layer, or a reduction coloring EC layer / ion conductive layer / reversible electrolytic oxidation layer. .

For the reduction coloring EC layer, transition metal oxides such as WO ₃ , MoO ₃ and TiO ₂ can be used. As the ion conductive layer, for example, silicon oxide,
Tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, aluminum oxide, niobium oxide, zirconium oxide, magnesium fluoride and the like can be used. This ionic conductive layer is an insulator for electrons, but a good conductor for protons and hydroxy ions.

In FIG. 1, the reducing coloring EC layer 5 is first formed on the reflective substrate 7, and then the ion conductive layer 4 is formed. Or it may be below. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a reversible electrolytic oxidation layer 3 may be provided on the reduction coloring EC layer with the ion conductive layer interposed therebetween. As the reversible electrolytic oxidation layer, for example, iridium oxide, nickel oxide, chromium oxide, vanadium oxide or the like can be used. These substances may be dispersed in the electrode or the ion conductive layer.

Next, the transparent electrode 2 is formed on the EC layer 15 thus formed. As the transparent electrode, for example, S
nO ₂ , In ₂ O ₃ , ITO (mixture of SnO ₂ and In ₂ O ₃ ), ZnO or the like can be used.

Each of these layers is formed by a conventional method, for example, a vacuum thin film forming method such as vacuum deposition, ion plating, or sputtering.

Before the transparent electrode 2 is formed, it is preferable to laser cut the end surface of the EC layer 15. In the conventional EC mirror, as shown in FIG. 2, the end surface of the EC layer is not cut, and stress is likely to remain in each layer in this EC layer. As a result, this stress was concentrated, and it was easy to peel off at the interface between the reduction coloring EC layer 5 and the ion conductive layer 4. In the present invention, by laser-cutting the end surface of the EC layer, the residual stress of each layer of the EC layer, which has been conventionally observed, is released and the possibility of peeling is reduced. In the conventional EC mirror manufacturing method, each layer is formed from the transparent substrate side. Therefore, if the end face of the EC mirror manufactured by the conventional method is laser-cut, this transparent substrate is also cut, and it becomes impossible to take out the electrodes. Therefore, it is necessary to perform this laser-cut by the conventional method. I couldn't. In the method of the present invention, in order to form each layer from the side opposite to the conventional one, that is, in order to form the transparent substrate after forming the EC layer, the end face of the EC layer is laser-cut without cutting the transparent substrate. You can

After forming each layer as described above, the electrode lead is connected to the reflective substrate 7 and the transparent electrode 2 using the conductive tape 10 and the lead wire 9, and finally the whole is sealed with the resin 1. In this way, by sealing the whole with resin, the invasion path of water is only the interface between the lead wire 9 and the resin 1, and as a result, the invasion of water is significantly reduced. Therefore,
Deterioration can be prevented by moisture, and durability can be improved.

[0017]

The method of the present invention, contrary to the conventional method,
Since each layer is formed from the reflective substrate side, unlike the conventional method, the step of forming a transparent substrate on the substrate (glass) is not necessary, and the film forming step that needs to be performed in vacuum is reduced.
Productivity is improved. Furthermore, there is no need to use this glass, there is no risk of cracking, and there is no need to use a glass substrate, and only one reflective substrate (aluminum) is required, which is highly cost-effective. Further, according to the method of the present invention, the end surface of the EC film on which the residual stress is concentrated can be laser-cut, and as a result, this residual stress can be released and peeling of each layer can be suppressed. The leakage current can be reduced by laser cutting.

In the conventional EC mirror as described in JP-B-5-5536, the adhesive force at the interface between the epoxy resin as the sealing resin and the clip and at the interface between the epoxy resin and the transparent electrode is It easily drops due to humidity,
It easily becomes a water entry route. Further, since the clip is provided around the entire circumference of the mirror, a water entry path exists around the entire circumference of the mirror. If water enters from this portion, discoloration of the WO ₃ film, which is the reducing coloring EC layer, and layer separation at the interface between the reducing coloring EC layer and the ionic conductive layer may occur, making it impossible to drive the normal coloration / decoloration. There is.
The EC mirror of the present invention can be wholly sealed with the sealing resin, and since the water invasion path is only at the interface between the lead and the sealing resin, the water intrusion is greatly reduced. The problem can be avoided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an EC mirror obtained by the method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional EC mirror.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sealing resin 2 ... Transparent electrode 3 ... Reversible electrolytic oxidation layer 4 ... Ion conductive layer 5 ... Reduction coloring EC layer 6 ... Insulating layer 7 ... Reflective substrate 8 ... Solder 9 ... Lead wire 10 ... Conductive tape 11 ... Substrate 12 ... Encapsulating material 13 ... Electrode extraction clip 14 ... Encapsulating substrate 15 ... EC layer

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An electrochromic layer (15) is formed on a reflective substrate (7), and then the electrochromic layer (1) is formed.
5) A method for manufacturing an electrochromic mirror, which comprises forming a transparent electrode (2) on the surface.