A system for heating electro-optic media comprises an electro-optic device comprising: a first substrate having first and second surfaces; a second substrate having third and fourth surfaces; a chamber defined between the opposed third surface of the second substrate and the second surface of the first substrate; electro-optic medium in chamber; a first electrode associated with second surface of first substrate; and a second electrode associated with third surface of second substrate; and a circuit in communication with first and second electrodes, comprising: a first EMF source capable of producing a first voltage; a second EMF source capable of producing a second voltage different from the first voltage; a plurality of switches configured to control the application of first and second voltages to the first and second electrodes; and a controller configured to control the switches, the first EMF source, and the second EMF source.

The smart window for the smart home and smart grid can harvest energy and supply power to the home, grid and window itself. The smart window for the smart home and smart grid has all the Electrochromic panel, Solar panel and Multimedia panel been the same full window wide view and aligned with each other in IGU. To be a home automation system, the smart window has local/remote access/control capabilities. There are several types of smart windows working as master device or slave device. The operation of smart window automation system has three modes, normal/open mode, shut/tint mode and smart phone mode. The tube of air circulation system is hidden inside the frame surrounding IGU. Most of the electronic components are integrated to be FPSOC Field Programmable System On Chip that all the electronic component is hidden in the frame surrounding IGU, too. Therefore, the smart window doesn't have any blockage of window view with the Solar panel, Electrochromic panel, Multimedia panel and air circulation system. The smart window has the clean outlook as the conventional dual panel IGU does. The master device of the smart window system is similar to the huge screen working as a smart phone. In normal/open mode, the smart window is similar to the conventional dual panel window having the full-panel clean and clear view. For the different architectures of the smart homes, the smart window must have versatile alignments and system control that the smart window has to be implemented with the Field Programmable System On Chips of Anlinx, Milinx and Zilinx made of the W5RS advanced FPSOC chip technologies.

A device is disclosed that comprises first and second substrates, first and second electrodes, and an electro-optic medium. The first and second substrates may be disposed in a substantially spaced apart manner. Each of the first and second electrodes are associated with one of the first and second substrates and the electro-optic medium is disposed therebetween. Further, at least one of the first and second electrodes comprises a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer, and an insulating layer. The first conductive layer may be distributed across a plurality of points. The second conductive layer may be disposed between the first conductive layer and the electro-optic medium. The insulating layer may be disposed between the first and second conductive layers and patterned with a plurality of holes aligned with the plurality of points. The holes may be operable to allow electrical communication between the first and second conductive layers.

Various embodiments herein relate to electrochromic devices, methods of fabricating electrochromic devices, and apparatus for fabricating electrochromic devices. In a number of cases, the electrochromic device may be fabricated to include a particular counter electrode material. The counter electrode material may include a base anodically coloring material. The counter electrode material may further include one or more halogens. The counter electrode material may also include one or more additives.

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 10.sup.8 Ohm-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.

The present application discloses a method for preparing an electrochromic device. The method includes placing an edge protection material on a first and second substrates, placing a first and second interlayers respectively within the edge protection material on the first and second substrates, wherein the edge protection material surrounds edges of the first and second interlayers, and interposing an electrochromic film between the first and second interlayers. The edge protection material prevents chemicals in the first and second interlayers from entering into the electrochromic film.

Aspects of this disclosure concern controllers and control methods for applying a drive voltage to bus bars of optically switchable devices such as electrochromic devices. Such devices are often provided on windows such as architectural glass. In certain embodiments, the applied drive voltage is controlled in a manner that efficiently drives an optical transition over the entire surface of the electrochromic device. The drive voltage is controlled to account for differences in effective voltage experienced in regions between the bus bars and regions proximate the bus bars. Regions near the bus bars experience the highest effective voltage.

Methods are provided for fabricating electrochromic devices that mitigate formation of short circuits under a top bus bar without predetermining where top bus bars will be applied on the device. Devices fabricated using such methods may be deactivated under the top bus bar, or may include active material under the top bus bar. Methods of fabricating devices with active material under a top bus bar include depositing a modified top bus bar, fabricating self-healing layers in the electrochromic device, and modifying a top transparent conductive layer of the device prior to applying bus bars.

A reflective display apparatus including a reflective display portion which is two-dimensionally divided into pixels each having subpixels and changes reflectance of each subpixel based on an image signal, and colored layers facing the reflective display portion and partially overlapping the pixels as viewed in a facing direction in which the colored layers face the reflective display portion. The colored layers include traversing colored layers that overlap more than one of the subpixels as viewed in the facing direction, and the colored layers are positioned such that at most one of the colored layers overlaps one of the subpixels as viewed in the facing direction.

An electrochromic film and an electrochromic device including the electrochromic film are disclosed. The electrochromic film includes an electrochromic layer and a passivation layer on one side of the electrochromic layer. The coloration level of the electrochromic film is different from the coloration level of the passivation layer. The film may change optical properties as a result of electrochromism according to an electrochemical reaction. The electrochromic film and the electrochromic device have improved electrochromism, excellent durability, excellent color-switching speed, and stepwise control of optical properties.