Preparation, characterization and performance of Ti1−xAlxN/Ag/Ti1−xAlxN low-emissivity films

In this paper, Ti1−xAlxN/Ag/Ti1−xAlxN sandwich structure low-emissivity (Low-E) films were prepared by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering (RF-MS) on glass substrates. The morphology, chemical state and performance of the film system were characterized by FIB-SEM, XPS, FT-IR, UV-vis spectrophotometer and electrochemical workstation. The results showed that the multilayer films exhibit an excellent visible light transmittance (T% > 85% at λ = 550 nm) and remarkable high infrared reflectivity (R% > 96% in the 2.5 ∼ 25 μm range). The Ti1−xAlxN dielectric-layer could not only increase transmittance in the visible light range of Ag film based on an anti-reflection effect, but also modify the intrinsic color of Ag film from sapphire to total color neutrality. In addition, Ti1−xAlxN layer could enhance the chemical stability of the Ag film. In principle, the approach to obtain Ti1−xAlxN/Ag/Ti1−xAlxN sandwich structure in our work could provide an alternative way to fabricate outstanding Low-E films.