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 Zr_xO_y/glass substrate by pulsed laser deposition. By controlling the growth temperature of the buffer layer, the stoichiometry and crystal structure of Zr_xO_y buffer layer can be converted from cubic Zr₂O phase to monoclinic ZrO₂ phase. Through such a transformation, the luminous transmittance (T_lum), solar modulation ability (ΔT_sol), 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.