• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.15-21
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• 2019

We investigated the structural, electrical and optical properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) ultra-thin films grown at $150^{\circ}C$ by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Diethylzinc and deionized water were used as metal precursors and reactants, respectively, for the deposition of ZnO thin films. The growth rate per ALD cycle was a constant 0.21 nm/cycle at $150^{\circ}C$, and samples below 50 cycles had amorphous properties due to the relatively thin thickness at the initial ALD growth stage. With the increase of the thickness from 100 cycles to 200 cycles, the crystallinity of ZnO thin films was increased and hexagonal wurtzite structure was observed. In addition, the particle size of the ZnO thin film increased with increasing number of ALD cycles. Electrical properties analysis showed that the resistivity value decreased with the increase of the thin film thickness, which is correlated with the decrease of the grain boundary concentration in the thicker ZnO thin film due to the increase of grain size and the improvement of the crystallinity. Optical characterization results showed that the band edge absorption in the near ultraviolet region (300 nm~400 nm) was increased and shifted. This phenomenon is due to the increase of the carrier concentration with the increase of the ZnO thin film thickness. This result agrees well with the decrease of the resistivity with the increase of the thin film thickness. Consequently, as the thickness of the thin film increases, the stress on the film surface is relaxed, the band gap decreases, and the crystallinity and conductivity are improved.

• Clean Technology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.123-128
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• 2019

$Bi_2MoO_6$ catalysts were successfully synthesized using ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME), glycerol (GL), ethylene glycol (EG), and water as solvents by a conventional hydrothermal method. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by XRD, DRS, BET, SEM, and PL, and we also investigated the photocatalytic activity of these materials for the decomposition of Rhodamin B under visible light irradiation. The XRD results revealed the successful synthesis of 12-18 nm, well-crystallized ${\gamma}-Bi_2MoO_6$ crystals with an Aurivillius structure regardless of solvent. In addition, the $Bi_2MoO_6$ catalysts prepared below $140^{\circ}C$ showed an amorphous phase; however, those prepared above $160^{\circ}C$ showed well-crystallized ${\gamma}-Bi_2MoO_6$ crystals. All the catalysts have a similar absorption spectrum from the ultraviolet region up to the visible region less than 470 nm. This result suggests that all the $Bi_2MoO_6$ catalysts are potential visible-light-driven photocatalysts. The $Bi_2MoO_6$ catalysts prepared using EGME as a solvent showed the highest photocatalytic activity. In addition, the $Bi_2MoO_6$ catalysts prepared at $180^{\circ}C$ showed the highest photocatalytic activity. The PL peaks appeared at about 560 nm at all catalysts and the excitonic PL signal was proportional to the photocatalytic activity for the decomposition of Rhodamin B. This suggests that the stronger the PL intensity, the larger the amount of oxygen vacancies and defects, and the higher the photocatalytic activity.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.251-255
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• 2021

a-Si is commonly considered as a primary candidate for the formation of passivation layer in heterojunction (HIT) solar cells. However, there are some problems when using this material such as significant losses due to recombination and parasitic absorption. To reduce these problems, a wide bandgap material is needed. A wide bandgap has a positive influence on effective transmittance, reduction of the parasitic absorption, and prevention of unnecessary epitaxial growth. In this paper, the adoption of a-SiO_x:H as the intrinsic layer was discussed. To increase lifetime and conductivity, oxygen concentration control is crucial because it is correlated with the thickness, bonding defect, interface density (D_it), and band offset. A thick oxygen-rich layer causes the lifetime and the implied open-circuit voltage to drop. Furthermore the thicker the layer gets, the more free hydrogen atoms are etched in thin films, which worsens the passivation quality and the efficiency of solar cells. Previous studies revealed that the lifetime and the implied voltage decreased when the a-SiOx thickness went beyond around 9 nm. In addition to this, oxygen acted as a defect in the intrinsic layer. The D_it increased up to an oxygen rate on the order of 8%. Beyond 8%, the D_it was constant. By controlling the oxygen concentration properly and achieving a thin layer, high-efficiency HIT solar cells can be fabricated.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2021

SiO2/Ag core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized by combining modified Stöber process and reverse micelle method using acetoxime as a reducing agent in water/dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DDBA)/cyclohexane reverse micells. The SiO2/Ag core-shells were studied for structure, morphology and size using UV-visible spectroscopy, XRD, SEM and TEM. The size of a SiO2/Ag core-shell could be controlled by changing the [water]/[DDBA] molar ratio (WR) values. The size and the polydispersity of SiO2/Ag core-shells increased with increase of the WR value. The resultant Ag nanoparticles exhibit a strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at 430 nm over the amorphous SiO2 nanoparticles. The SPR peak shifted to the red side with increase in nanoparticle size. Conductive pastes with 70 wt% SiO2/Ag core-shell were prepared, and the pastes were coated on the PET films using a screen-printing method. The printed paste film of the SiO2/Ag core-shell showed higher surface resistance than the commercial Ag paste in the range of 460~750 µΩ/sq.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.564-573
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• 2022

Calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) exhibits three polymorphs: calcite with arhombohedral, vaterite with a spherical, and aragonite with a needle-like structure. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the morphology of CaCO₃ are very important to investigate the synthesis of single-crystal vaterite and aragonite. In this work, the polymorphs of calcium carbonate were quantitatively analyzed using XRD. Pure vaterite and pure aragonite were synthesized and the peak distribution of a single phase was analyzed. The vaterite fraction of a mixture of calcite and vaterite was calculated based on the intensity of a specific diffraction peak, and compared to the results based on the peak area. The mean value of f_sV (the correction factor for the peak area of vaterite) was 0.654. The phase analysis of calcite-aragonite mixtures was performed, and the mean value of f_sA (the correction factor for the peak area of aragonite) was obtained as 0.6713. Using these factors, Eq. (24)~Eq. (32) for the quantitative analysis based on the total peak area of XRD were derived to calculate the phase contents of ternary phase CaCO₃. And three-component XRD section was defined considering overlapping sections.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.56-63
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• 2023

In this paper, we studied the effect of electron beam irradiation on sol-gel indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) thin films under air and nitrogen atmosphere and carried out the electrical characterization of the s ol-gel IGZO thin film transistors (TFTs). To investigate the optical properties, crystalline structure and chemical state of the sol-gel IGZO thin films after electron beam irradiation, UV-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were carried out. The sol-gel IGZO thin films exhibited over 80% transmittance in the visible range. The XRD analysis confirmed the amorphous nature of the sol-gel IGZO films regardless of electron beam irradiation. When electron beam irradiation was conducted in a nitrogen (N₂) atmosphere, we observed an increased proportion of peaks related to M-O bonding contributed to the improved quality of the thin films. Sol-gel IGZO TFTs subjected to electron beam exposure in a nitrogen atmosphere exhibited enhanced electrical characteristics in terms of on/off ratio and electron mobility. In addition, the electrical parameters of the transistor (on/off ratio, threshold voltage, electron mobility, subthreshold swing) remained relatively stable over time, indicating that the electron beam exposure process in a nitrogen atmosphere could enhance the reliability of IGZO-based thin-film transistors in the fabrication of sol-gel processed TFTs.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.241-247
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• 2023

We examine the spectral characteristics of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) formed on an amorphous silicon film irradiated by a 355-nm nanosecond laser. A Gaussian beam with a diameter of 196 ㎛ is used to perform a two-dimensional raster scan. The laser's pulse number is varied from 190 to 280, and its intensity is adjusted within 100-130 mJ/cm². LIPSSs with a periodicity of approximately 330 nm form on the surface of the Si film, aligned perpendicular to the laser's polarization. Transmission spectra of the samples show dips around 700 nm for transverse electric polarization and around 500 nm for transverse magnetic polarization. The features are investigated with a one-dimensional-grating model using a rigorous coupled-wave analysis. Simulations confirm that the observed dips are due to the resonant modes, depending on the polarization.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.17-28
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• 2018

In this study, catalytic activation using sulfuric acid lignin (SAL), the condensed solid by-product from saccharification process, with potassium hydroxide at $750^{\circ}C$ for 1 h in order to investigate its potential to nanoporous carbon In this study, catalytic activation using sulfuric acid lignin (SAL), the condensed solid by-product from saccharification process, with potassium hydroxide at $750^{\circ}C$ for 1 h in order to investigate its potential to nanoporous carbon material. Comparison study was also conducted by production of activated carbon from coconut shell (CCNS), Pinus, and Avicel, and each activated carbon was characterized by chemical composition, Raman spectroscopy, SEM analysis, and BET analysis. The amount of solid residue after thermogravimetric analysis of biomass samples at the final temperature of $750^{\circ}C$ was SAL > CCNS > Pinus > Avicel, which was the same as the order of activated carbon yields after catalytic activation. Specifically, SAL-derived activated carbon showed the highest value of carbon content (91.0%) and $I_d/I_g$ peak ratio (4.2), indicating that amorphous large aromatic structure layer was formed with high carbon fixation. In addition, the largest changes was observed in SAL with the maximum BET specific surface area and pore volume of $2341m^2/g$ and $1.270cm^3/g$, respectively. Furthermore, the adsorption test for three kinds of organic pollutants (phenol, 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and carbofuran) were conducted, and an excellent adsorption capacity more than 90 mg/g for all activated carbon was determined using 100 ppm of the standard solution. Therefore, SAL, a condensed structure, can be used not only as a nanoporous carbon material with high specific surface area but also as a biosorbent applied to a carbon filter for remediation of organic pollutants in future.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.107-108
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• 2008

The spectacular development of AMLCDs, been made possible by a-Si:H technology, still faces two major drawbacks due to the intrinsic structure of a-Si:H, namely a low mobility and most important a shift of the transfer characteristics of the TFTs when submitted to bias stress. This has lead to strong research in the crystallization of a-Si:H films by laser and furnace annealing to produce polycrystalline silicon TFTs. While these devices show improved mobility and stability, they suffer from uniformity over large areas and increased cost. In the last decade we have focused on microcrystalline silicon (${\mu}c$-Si:H) for bottom gate TFTs, which can hopefully meet all the requirements for mass production of large area AMOLED displays [1,2]. In this presentation we will focus on the transfer of a deposition process based on the use of $SiF_4$-Ar-$H_2$ mixtures from a small area research laboratory reactor into an industrial gen 1 AKT reactor. We will first discuss on the optimization of the process conditions leading to fully crystallized films without any amorphous incubation layer, suitable for bottom gate TFTS, as well as on the use of plasma diagnostics to increase the deposition rate up to 0.5 nm/s [3]. The use of silicon nanocrystals appears as an elegant way to circumvent the opposite requirements of a high deposition rate and a fully crystallized interface [4]. The optimized process conditions are transferred to large area substrates in an industrial environment, on which some process adjustment was required to reproduce the material properties achieved in the laboratory scale reactor. For optimized process conditions, the homogeneity of the optical and electronic properties of the ${\mu}c$-Si:H films deposited on $300{\times}400\;mm$ substrates was checked by a set of complementary techniques. Spectroscopic ellipsometry, Raman spectroscopy, dark conductivity, time resolved microwave conductivity and hydrogen evolution measurements allowed demonstrating an excellent homogeneity in the structure and transport properties of the films. On the basis of these results, optimized process conditions were applied to TFTs, for which both bottom gate and top gate structures were studied aiming to achieve characteristics suitable for driving AMOLED displays. Results on the homogeneity of the TFT characteristics over the large area substrates and stability will be presented, as well as their application as a backplane for an AMOLED display.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.161-172
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• 2018

Multi-anvil press (MAP) is one of the high pressure apparatuses and often generates the pressure-conditions ranging from 5 to 25 GPa and temperature-conditions up to $2,300^{\circ}C$. The MAP is, therefore, suitable to explore the pressure-induced structural changes in diverse earth materials from Earth's mantle and the bottom of the mantle transition zone (~660 km). In this study, we present the experimental results for pressure-load calibration of the 1,100-ton multi-anvil press equipped in the authors' laboratory. The pressure-load calibration experiments were performed for the 14/8 step, 14/8 G2, 14/8 HT, and 18/12 assembly sets. The high pressure experiments using ${\alpha}$-quartz, wollastonitestructure of $CaGeO_3$, and forsterite as starting materials were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The phase transition of each mineral indicates the specific pressure that is loaded to a sample at $1,200^{\circ}C$: a transition of ${\alpha}$-quartz to coesite at 3.1 GPa, that of garnet-structure of $CaGeO_3$ to perovskite-structure at 5.9 GPa, that of coesite to stishovite at 9.2 GPa, and that of forsterite to wadsleyite at 13.6 GPa. While the estimated pressure-load calibration curve is generally consistent with those obtained in other laboratories, the deviation up to 50 tons is observed at high pressure above 10 GPa. This is partly because of the loss of oil pressure at high pressure resulting from the differences in a sample chamber, and the frictional force between pressure medium and second anvil. We also report the ${\sim}200^{\circ}C/mm$ of thermal gradient in the vertical direction of the sample chamber of 14/8 HT assembly. The pressure-load calibration curve and the observed thermal gradient within the sample chamber can be applied to explain the structural changes and the relevant macroscopic properties of diverse crystalline and amorphous earth materials in the mantle.