View, Inc.

View Operating Corporation

Soladigm, Inc.

Robin Friedman

Sridhar Karthik Kailasam

Anshu A Pradhan

Robert T Rozbicki

Rao P Mulpuri

Dhairya Shrivastava

Vinod Khosla

Dane Thomas Gillaspie

Disha Mehtani

Ronald Allan Powell

Gordon E Jack

Ronald M Parker

Ron Powell

Fabian Wilbur Strong

Stephen Clark Brown

Erich R Klawuhn

Robert Michael Martinson

Illayathambi Kunadian

Imran Khan

Dane Gillaspie

Thin-film devices, for example, multi-zone electrochromic windows, and methods of manufacturing are described. In certain cases, a multi-zone electrochromic window comprises a monolithic EC device on a transparent substrate and two or more tinting zones, wherein the tinting zones are configured for independent operation.

Multi-zone EC windows

Methods, apparatus, and systems for mitigating pinhole defects in optical devices such as electrochromic windows. One method mitigates a pinhole defect in an electrochromic device by identifying the site of the pinhole defect and obscuring the pinhole to make it less visually discernible. In some cases, the pinhole defect may be the result of mitigating a short-related defect.

Pinhole mitigation for optical devices

Electrochromic devices with multi-layer conductors including one or more of a defect mitigation insulating layer, a color tuning layer and metal layer pair, and a transparent conductive oxide layer.

Faster switching low-defect electrochromic windows

Electrochromic device () having at least one multi-layer conductor () with a metal layer () between a first transparent conductive oxide layer () and a second transparent conductive oxide layer () and optionally having one or more tuning layers adjacent the metal layer.

Faster switching electrochromic devices

Prior electrochromic devices frequently suffer from high levels of defectivity. The defects may be manifest as pin holes or spots where the electrochromic transition is impaired. This is unacceptable for many applications such as electrochromic architectural glass. Improved electrochromic devices with low defectivity can be fabricated by depositing certain layered components of the electrochromic device in a single integrated deposition system. While these layers are being deposited and/or treated on a substrate, for example a glass window, the substrate never leaves a controlled ambient environment, for example a low pressure controlled atmosphere having very low levels of particles. These layers may be deposited using physical vapor deposition.

Fabrication of low defectivity electrochromic devices

Embodiments described include bus bars for electrochromic or other optical state changing devices. The bus bars are configured to color match and/or provide minimal optical contrast with their surrounding environment in the optical device. Such bus bars may be transparent bus bars.

Obscuring bus bars in electrochromic glass structures

Window units, for example insulating glass units (IGU's), that have at least two panes, each pane having an electrochromic device thereon, are described. Two optical state devices on each pane of a dual-pane window unit provide window units having four optical states. Window units described allow the end user a greater choice of how much light is transmitted through the electrochromic window. Also, by using two or more window panes, each with its own electrochromic device, registered in a window unit, visual defects in any of the individual devices are negated by virtue of the extremely small likelihood that any of the visual defects will align perfectly and thus be observable to the user.

Multi-pane electrochromic windows

Electrochromic devices and methods may employ the addition of a defect-mitigating insulating layer which prevents electronically conducting layers and/or electrochromically active layers from contacting layers of the opposite polarity and creating a short circuit in regions where defects form. In some embodiments, an encapsulating layer is provided to encapsulate particles and prevent them from ejecting from the device stack and risking a short circuit when subsequent layers are deposited. The insulating layer may have an electronic resistivity of between about 1 and 10Ohm-cm. In some embodiments, the insulating layer contains one or more of the following metal oxides: aluminum oxide, zinc oxide, tin oxide, silicon aluminum oxide, cerium oxide, tungsten oxide, nickel tungsten oxide, and oxidized indium tin oxide. Carbides, nitrides, oxynitrides, and oxycarbides may also be used.

Fabrication of electrochromic devices

Embodiments herein relate to methods and apparatus for preventing and mitigating the ingress of moisture into an interior region of an IGU. Various techniques are disclosed including, for example, the use of a strain relief structure around wires passing through a secondary seal, improved materials for coating the wires, and additional/improved layers for bonding the secondary seal to tape provided around a spacer.

Growing community of inventors

Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Robin Friedman