To examine the antidazzle effect of switchable mirrors, mirrors based on a magnesium-nickel alloy were prepared on three kinds of transparent substrates with different surface roughness. The mirrors prepared using a direct-current magnetron sputtering method have nearly the same surface morphology and roughness as the underlying substrates. The diffuse fraction of the total reflectance of the mirrors increases with surface roughness of the mirrors. Thus. by utilizing substrates with rough surfaces, the specular reflectance of the mirrors decreases and consequently it is possible to prepare switchable mirrors with an antidazzle effect. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.