Development of Novel functionalities in Some Photoelectrochromic Materials and their Application to a Display Device

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Based on the opto-electric functionalities of some metal oxide semiconductors which we had discovered in the course of the study of photoresponsible novel materials, the possibility of these materials for display or memory devices has been investigated from the practical point of view. Although the electrochromism (EC) and the photochromism (PC) of those metal oxides such as WO3 and MoO3 were already established, it has been simply assumed that the PC response is induced by the UV light of larger energy than the bandgaps of these semiconductor materials. On the contrary, we found that these compounds will exhibit PC reponse even to a visible light once they are treated electro-chemically in advance. This discovery led us successfully to further findings of the prac-tical importance ; the PC reaction of these metal oxides can be induced by the red beam of a tiny semiconductor laser system, their PC coloration is readily erasable upon anodic polarization, and these coloration-decoloratio … More n processes are highly reproducible. The reaction mechanism concerning this hybridized PC-EC response of these semiconductor materials were also studid in terms of a variety of spectroscopic approaches and kinetic analyzes.The purpose of the present research project is to achieve the guide-lines for the reali-zation of high density display devices or laser-printers of lower-cost and higher recyclabil-ity by utilizing the hybridized PC-EC properties of those metal oxides mentioned above. The project for the last 3 years was highly effective and many useful results in fundamen-tal to applicational aspects were obtained under the collaboration with the researcher of a private company, especially in the study of manufacturing processes in which the faculty researchers are not necesarily well-experienced.The items accomplished in each research year are :'92 ; basic characterization of PC-EC compounds, the response and the mechanism.'93 ; optimization of the PC-EC process, multiple control of the process.'94 ; repeatability test of write-erase cycles, processability of micro-patterned PC-EC film. Less