Photoionic Light Modulators for Electrochromic Devices

The fast increase of telecommunications and technology continuously push towards low energy and complex functionalities.

New functionalities necessarily imply silicon technology to be extended to other materials and systems with optical and electrical properties beyond those of Si alone.

Optical modulators are one of the principal components constituting photonic circuits directly determine the energy costs and systematic performances of optical devices. Among modulators, electrochromic devices (ECD) regulate light intensity by applying a low voltage.

Despite inorganic oxide materials present low energy consumption, limitations arise to fabricate fast switching tunable light EC devices .

A possible solution to overcome these limitations are mixed ionic-electronic conductors (MIEC).Their optical properties' change is based on electrochemically driven reversible redox processes regulated by an electric field.

Phides aims at developing a novel solid state NV electrochromic devices based on the implementation of rare-earths and strain engineering of functional oxide thin films to tune the change of color contrast and increase switching times. Photo-ionic materials have the potential to deliver robust, fast and energy efficient NV electrochromic devices.

However, photo-ionic control is still at an early stage of the R&D process and many aspects still needs to be improved to deliver a competitive device.

In essence, Phides will provide: i) An electrochromic guided device based on the electrochemical insertion of oxygen ions; ii) A large and analogically tunable electrochromic response of the cell; ii) A fast electrochromic switching capabilities through the implementation of nanoionics concept for boosting ionic motion; iii) An improved understanding of the oxygen-ion intercalation mechanisms in oxide perovskite thin films; and iv) Device scalability and miniaturization.