Abstract
An explorative study was performed on sputter-deposited thermochromic VO2 films with top coatings of Al oxide and Al nitride. The films were exposed to dry air at a high temperature. Bare 80-nm-thick VO2 films rapidly converted to non-thermochromic V2O5 under the chosen conditions. Al oxide top coatings protected the underlying VO2 films and, expectedly, increased film thickness yielded improved protection. Specifically, it was found that a 30-nm-thick sputter-deposited Al oxide top coating delayed the oxidation by more than one day upon heating at 300°C. The results demonstrate the importance of protective layers in thermochromic windows for practical application.
Highlights
Vanadium dioxide has a reversible metal–insulator transition at a “critical” temperature τc of about 68 °C [1]
At τ < τc, VO2 is monoclinic, semiconducting and infrared-transparent whereas it is tetragonal, metallic-like and infrared-reflecting at τ > τc. These properties imply that thin films of VO2 exhibit thermochromism and can be of interest for windows and glass facades in order to control the inflow of visible light and solar energy into energy efficient buildings
In the present work we report on explorative studies of sputter-deposited VO2 films subjected to temperatures up to 300 °C in dry air and demonstrate that
Summary
Vanadium dioxide has a reversible metal–insulator transition at a “critical” temperature τc of about 68 °C [1]. In the present work we report on explorative studies of sputter-deposited VO2 films subjected to temperatures up to 300 °C in dry air and demonstrate that Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd thin sputter-deposited top coatings of Al oxide can provide good protection for TC VO2.
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