Study on low-cost near-infrared smart window on general glass by simple method

•The advantages of the way are simple preparation, and large area growth.•Compared with other methods, this method costs less.•The device is practical and can be widely used in daily life. Based on the fast transition characteristics of vanadium oxides (VO2) optical transmittance at different temperatures, the low-cost smart window has been fabricated successfully on general glass by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), magnetron sputtering and Air-annealing methods. The mechanism of this kind of smart window has been researched. Meanwhile, the technological process has been deeply explored. And the optical transmittance of the device is tested and analyzed. The kind of low-cost smart window can be manufactured easily, grown in large area and changed greatly on optical transmittance.