Oxygen-deficient
tungsten oxide (WO
x
) is known as an active
material for various future applications
such as smart displays, photocatalysts, Li-ion battery, and so on.
WO
x
exhibits versatile properties depending
on the valence state of W, which can vary from +6 to +4. Therefore,
clarifying the relationship between x, the valence
state of W ion, and the material properties of WO
x
is crucial for discovering more unique device applications.
In case of crystalline WO
x
, since WO
x
has many different phases, the valence state
of W cannot be modulated continuously from +6 to +4. On the other
hand, there is no phase boundary in amorphous (a-) WO
x
, the valence state of W ion can be continuously
modulated against x, and the effect of valence state
of W on the material properties of WO
x
can be thoroughly examined. Here, we report the electrical, optical,
and thermal properties of a-WO
x
films
with several valence states of +6 (d0), +5 (d1), and +4 (d2) for x ranging from 2.511
to 2.982. Although the +6 dominant films were electrical insulators
with optical transparency in the visible region, we found that both
optical transmissivity and electrical resistivity decreased drastically
with increase in the +5 concentrations, which also enhances the thermal
conductivity because heat can be carried by additional conduction
electrons. As the +4 state became dominant in the film, the resistivity
slightly increased, whereas the low visible transmission was maintained.
These results suggest that the redox of tungsten between +6 and +5
is attributed to all versatile properties of a-WO
x
, which would be of great use for developing unique devices
in the future.