Memory effect in photochromic rare-earth oxyhydride thin films studied by in situ positron annihilation spectroscopy upon photodarkening-bleaching cycling

Cycling stability of the photochromic effect in rare-earth oxyhydride thin films is of great importance for long-term applications such as smart windows. However, an increasingly slower bleaching rate upon photochromic cycling was found in yttrium oxyhydride thin films; the origin of this memory effect is yet unclear. In this work, the...

Large Polaron Conduction, Photoconductivity, and Photochromism in GdO_xH_3−2x Oxyhydride Thin Films

At ambient conditions, rare-earth oxyhydride thin films show reversible photochromism and photoconductivity, while their mechanism and relation are still unclear. In this work, this question is explored with in situ time-resolved measurements of both optical and transport properties of Gd-based oxyhydride thin films. It is found that p-type...

Photochromic samarium oxyhydride thin films

Photochromism has been reported for several rare-earth (RE) metal oxyhydride thin films and is characterized by a reversible darkening of the sample when exposed to light with energy greater than its optical bandgap. Here, we extend the range of known photochromic RE-oxyhydrides to include samarium oxyhydrides. These SmH3−2xOx thin films are...

Aliovalent Calcium Doping of Yttrium Oxyhydride Thin Films and Implications for Photochromism

To develop an understanding of the photochromic effect in rare-earth metal oxyhydride thin films (REH3-2xOx, here RE = Y), we explore the aliovalent doping of the RE cation. We prepared Ca-doped yttrium oxyhydride thin films ((CazY1-z)HxOy) by reactive magnetron cosputtering with Ca doping concentrations between 0 and 36 at. %. All of the...

Erratum to: Aliovalent Calcium Doping of Yttrium Oxyhydride Thin Films and Implications for Photochromism (The Journal of Physical Chemistry C (2022) 126:34 (14742−14749) DOI:10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c04456)

The energy axes of the RBS and ERD data (contained in Figures 2a,b,d,e, and S4) were originally underestimated, and the corrected figures appear below and in the Supporting Information. The change is in the conversion from raw data to the energy scale, which was initially converted incorrectly. The rescaled x-axis does not change the data...

Structural properties and anion dynamics of yttrium dihydride and photochromic oxyhydride thin films examined by in situ μ+SR

Thin films of rare-earth metal oxyhydrides, such as yttrium oxyhydrides (YH3-2xOx), show a photochromic effect where the transparency of the films decreases reversibly upon exposure to UV light. However, the exact mechanism behind this effect is unknown. In this paper, we describe the behavior of YH3-2xOx thin films, with different O2-:H-...

Influence of Crystal Structure, Encapsulation, and Annealing on Photochromism in Nd Oxyhydride Thin Films

Thin films of rare earth metal oxyhydrides show a photochromic effect, the precise mechanism of which is yet unknown. Here, we made thin films of NdH3-2xOx and show that we can change the band gap, crystal structure, and photochromic contrast by tuning the composition (O2-:H-) via the sputtering deposition pressure. To protect these films...