Abstract
Vanadium dioxide ($VO_2$) is an attractive material for smart window applications where the transmittance of light can be automatically modulated from a transparent state to an opaque state at the critical temperature of ${\sim}68^{\circ}C$. Meanwhile, F : $SnO_2$ (F-doped $SnO_2$, FTO) glass is a transparent conductive oxide material that is widely used in solar-energy-related applications because of its excellent optical and electrical properties. Relatively high transmittance and low emissivity have been obtained for FTO-coated glasses. Tunable transmittance corresponding to ambient temperature and low emissivity can be expected from $VO_2$ films deposited onto FTO glasses. In this study, FTO glasses were applied for the deposition of $VO_2$ thin films by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering. $VO_2$ thin films were also deposited on a Pyrex substrate for comparison. To decrease the phase transition temperature of $VO_2$, tungsten-doped $VO_2$ films were also deposited onto FTO glasses. The visible transmittance of $VO_2$/FTO was higher than that of $VO_2$/pyrex due to the increased crystallinity of the $VO_2$ thin film deposited on FTO and decreased interface reflection. Although the solar transmittance modulation of $VO_2$/FTO was lower than that of $VO_2$/pyrex, room temperature solar transmittance of $VO_2$/FTO was lower than that of $VO_2$/pyrex, which is advantageous for reflecting solar heat energy in summer.
