Preparation and properties of vanadium dioxide thermochromic thin films

Deposition of vanadium dioxide and the study of its electrical and optical properties at varying deposition conditions have been presented. The materials have been deposited by reactive r.f. magnetron sputtering technique in Ar, O₂ ambient followed by annealing post-treatment. Electrical conductivity measurements indicate that oxygen pressure plays an important role in obtaining VO₂ and atP _{O 2}=2.4% stoichiometric VO₂ can be obtained. The deposition rate of oxides decreases with increasing O₂ pressure and the rate of VO₂ was about 130Å/min. Optical studies show that VO₂ films exhibit thermochromism and it has the potential application for energy efficient solar energy utilization.