Precise Design of VO2 Thin Films for Smart Windows by Employing Thickness‐Dependent Refractive Index

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is an adjustable refractive index material and has capability of behaving as semiconductor or conductor depending on its temperature. Such a condition makes it as a material which can be employed in fabricating thermochromic smart windows. The transmission characteristics of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physica status solidi. A, Applications and materials science Applications and materials science, 2023-01, Vol.220 (2), p.n/a
Main Authors: Mahdieh, Mohammad Hossein, Sohrabi, Mehrad
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adjustable refractive indexes
Conductors
Film thickness
optimized thicknesses
Oscillators
Performance indices
Refractivity
Smart materials
smart windows
Thin films
transmission of VO2 films
Vanadium dioxide
Vanadium oxides
Windows (apertures)
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Summary:Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is an adjustable refractive index material and has capability of behaving as semiconductor or conductor depending on its temperature. Such a condition makes it as a material which can be employed in fabricating thermochromic smart windows. The transmission characteristics of these type of windows strongly depend on the thickness of the film. Therefore, some calculations are required to optimize the VO2 thickness. Since the refractive index of VO2 thin film is thickness dependent, therefore, in calculating the transmission of light spectrum from VO2 thin films, a unique refractive index cannot be utilized. Herein, using three theoretical models (Lorentz–Drude oscillator, Lorentz oscillator, and Tauc–Lorentz) and employing experimental results from previous reports, a collection of thickness‐dependent refractive indexes of VO2 films is provided. More precise transmission can be achieved using this set of refractive index data in the calculations which agree with those of experiments. These results also make capable to determine optimized film thickness for any desired transmission performance. This method is useful for design of VO2‐based thermochromic smart windows. In designing VO2 film for smart windows, two issues must be considered: 1) The permittivity of VO2 thin film in nanoscale is thickness dependent and 2) appropriate models must be used to obtain the calculated data for refractive index. Herein, thickness‐dependent refractive index of VO2 film is optimized considering the above issues.
ISSN:1862-6300
1862-6319
DOI:10.1002/pssa.202200553