Thermochromic Coatings for Emissivity Modulation

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) and the University of Wisconsin, Madison propose to develop a multilayer emissivity control coating (MECC) for active and passive thermal emission control. PSI will fabricate a thermochromic emissivity control coating based on vanadium dioxide (VO2) and validate its ability to modulate broadband thermal signature contrast by >10:1 with a switching time of 1 µs. We will investigate the fundamental limits of emissivity contrast in multilayer VO2-based coatings, with a thorough exploration of the trade-offs between switching speed, power requirements, and emissivity contrast. PSI will leverage existing VO2-based passive emissivity control technologies to develop methodologies to formulate and process high quality VO2 films on a variety of large surface area substrates.