Ion irradiation effects on the optical properties of tungsten oxide films

Nagata, Shinji*; Fujita, Haruka*; Inoue, Aichi; Yamamoto, Shunya; Tsuchiya, Bun*; Shikama, Tatsuo*

A tungsten tri-oxide (WO) film covered with a thin catalyst layer is one of the candidates for hydrogen sensing devices that show a reversible coloration under hydrogen exposure. While the injection of the cations and/or the formation of the oxygen vacancies can be responsible for the coloration of the film, the mechanism of the gasochromic phenomenon is not fully understood. In the present work, the changes of the optical properties in the WO film by ion irradiation were investigated to clarify the relation between the coloration and oxygen vacancies. WO films of 300-500 nm thicknesses were deposited on SiO substrates by magnetron sputtering. Oxygen ions at energies between 200 and 800 keV were irradiated to the WO films. The optical absorption of the film was measured in the wavelengths between 190 and 1000 nm. The results show that the change of optical-absorption coefficient in WO films depends on both electronic and nuclear stopping powers.