Design of Antireflection and Enhanced Thermochromic Properties of TiO₂/VO₂ Thin Films

Abstract

Abstract VO 2 ‐based thin films exhibit great potential applications in thermochromic smart windows. However, it is still a challenge to synergistically achieve the high luminous transmittance ( T lum ) and large solar modulation (Δ T sol ). In this paper, antireflective (AR) TiO 2 /VO 2 thin films are designed through optical simulations, and the thin films with optimized film thickness are prepared by magnetron sputtering. The overall performances of the thin films are significantly improved. Compared with single‐layer VO 2 , the T lum value of the TiO 2 /VO 2 thin film is significantly increased from 29.03% to 46.29% by 59.5%, and the Δ T sol value is increased up to 16.03%. The T lum and Δ T sol values of the TiO 2 /VO 2 /TiO 2 sandwiched thin films can be further improved up to 50.49% and 20.11%, respectively, owing to the light interference at the interfaces between the multilayers. The results provide an effective strategy for improving the performance of smart windows.