Behera Makhes K, Williams Leslie C, Pradhan Sangram K, Bahoura Messaoud
Center for Materials Research, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, 23504, United States.
Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, 23504, United States.
Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 4;10(1):1824. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-58698-w.
The metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) closest to room temperature of 68-70 °C as shown by vanadium oxide (VO), compared with other transition metal oxides, makes it a potential candidate for smart window coating. We have successfully fabricated a potential smart window device after the optimum design of a multilayered thin film structure made out of transparent conducting oxide (aluminum doped zinc oxide) and pure VO using pulsed laser deposition technique. This comprehensive study is based on two different configurations for multi-layered structure approach, with the intention to reduce the transition temperature, as well as to maintain the MIT properties that would strengthen the potential of the structure to be used for a smart window device. By creating a multi-layered structure, we were able to create a low powered device that can operate less than 15 V that leads to significant decline in the infrared transmission by a magnitude of over 40% and provided sufficient heat to trigger the MIT at a temperature around 60 °C, which is almost 10 °C lower than its bulk counterpart. This finding would positively impact the research on VO thin films, not only as smart windows but also for numerous other applications like bolometers, infrared detectors, Mott transistors and many more.
与其他过渡金属氧化物相比，氧化钒（VO）所呈现的最接近68 - 70°C室温的金属 - 绝缘体转变（MIT）特性，使其成为智能窗户涂层的潜在候选材料。我们利用脉冲激光沉积技术，对由透明导电氧化物（铝掺杂氧化锌）和纯VO制成的多层薄膜结构进行了优化设计，成功制备出一种潜在的智能窗户器件。这项全面的研究基于多层结构方法的两种不同配置，旨在降低转变温度，并保持MIT特性，从而增强该结构用于智能窗户器件的潜力。通过创建多层结构，我们能够制造出一种低功耗器件，其工作电压低于15V，可使红外传输显著下降超过40%，并在约60°C的温度下提供足够的热量来触发MIT，这比其块状材料的触发温度低近10°C。这一发现将对VO薄膜的研究产生积极影响，不仅在智能窗户方面，还在测辐射热计、红外探测器、莫特晶体管等众多其他应用领域。
