Characterization of the VO2 thin films grown on glass substrates by MOD

This paper describes the deposition of Nb doped vanadium dioxide (VO₂) films on a glass substrate by metal organic decomposition (MOD) and their thermochromic properties. The difference in thermochromic properties of VO₂ thin films on a glass substrate was investigated with and without a buffer layer of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO). The phase transition temperature of VO₂ thin film successfully reduced from 83°C to 43°C on a glass substrate with a buffer layer of HZO. Without a buffer layer of HZO, the thermochromic properties of VO₂ thin films deteriorated comparing with a buffer layer of HZO. HZO buffer layer effectively suppresses the miniaturization of VO₂ crystallite size of thin film due to Nb doping. Moreover, it would block out the diffusion of Al, Na, and Ca impurity ions from a glass substrate and the partial oxidation of VO₂ thin films judging from XPS O1s spectra and XPS depth profile analysis. We conclude that the insertion of the HZO buffer layer is a useful technique for controlling the transition temperature of VO₂ for the smart window applications by MOD.