Electrothermally control of dynamic infrared switching of VO2 thin film on FTO glass

Highlights: • High-quality VO₂ thin films were deposited on FTO/glass in one step. • The metal-insulator transition of VO₂ was electrothermally controlled. • Transparent FTO underlay was used as a resistive heating element. • Dynamically tuned infrared transmission and switching was demonstrated. • Very promising as a dynamically tuned smart window technology. -- Abstract: Toward controlling the metal-insulator transition (MIT) of VO₂ in a facile method for dynamically tuning infrared transmission, we report one-step VO₂ thin film deposition on FTO/glass substrate without post annealing using the reactive sputtering deposition technique. The MIT of VO₂ thin films and their infrared modulation characteristics were investigated. Using the FTO underlayer as a resistive heating element, the MIT of large area VO₂ thin films can be easily achieved. Dynamic tuning the infrared transmission or abrupt infrared switching through voltage control was demonstrated. Our results suggest that voltage driven VO₂/FTO/glass through electrothermally control VO₂ phase change can be a promising candidate for smart window and infrared switching applications.