Tuning the electrical and optical properties of ZrxOy/VO2 thin films by controlling the stoichiometry of ZrxOy buffer layer

High-performance vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films with high luminous transmittance and solar modulation ability were successfully fabricated on ZrxOy/glass substrate by pulsed laser deposition. By controlling the growth temperature of the buffer layer, the stoichiometry and crystal structure of ZrxOy buffer layer can be converted from cubic Zr2O phase to monoclinic ZrO2 phase. Through such a transformation, the luminous transmittance (Tlum), solar modulation ability (ΔTsol), the transition temperature and the width of thermal hysteresis loop have been tuned without diminishing the thermochromic property. It is found that the insertion of ZrO2 layer results in a remarkable enhancement of the luminous transmittance and the solar modulation ability when compared to single-layer VO2 film. The findings in the present work may provide some new strategies for the commercialization of VO2 films in the field of smart energy-efficient windows.