• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.552-561
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• 2011

This study attempted to manufacture a Cu-15 at.%Ga coating layer via the cold spray process and investigated the effect of heat treatment environment on the properties of cold sprayed coating material. Three kinds of heat treatment environments, $5%H_2$+argon, pure argon, and vacuum were used in this study. Annealing treatments were conducted at $200{\sim}800^{\circ}C$/1 hr. With the cold sprayed coating layer, pure ${\alpha}$-Cu and small amounts of $Ga_2O_3$ were detected in the XRD, EDS, EPMA analyses. Porosity significantly decreased and hardness also decreased with increasing annealing temperature. The inhomogeneous dendritic microstructure of cold sprayed coating material changed to the homogeneous and dense one (microstructural evolution) with annealing heat treatment. Oxides near the interface of particles could be reduced by heat treatment especially in vacuum and argon environments. Vacuum environment during heat treatment was suggested to be most effective one to improve the densification and purification properties of cold sprayed Cu-15 at.%Ga coating material.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2001.07a
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• pp.286-289
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• 2001

Single phase CuGaS$_2$ thin film with the highest diffraction peak of (112) at diffraction angle (2$\theta$) of 28.8$^{\circ}$ was made at substrate temperature of 7$0^{\circ}C$, annealing temperature of 35$0^{\circ}C$ and annealing time of 60 min. And second highest (204) peak was shown at diffraction angle (2$\theta$) of 49.1$^{\circ}$. Lattice constant of a and c of that CuGaS$_2$ thin film was 5.37 $\AA$ and 10.54 $\AA$ respectively. The greatest grain size of the thin film was about 1${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$. The (112) peak of single phase of CuGaS$_2$ thin film at annealing temperature of 35$0^{\circ}C$ with excess S supply was appeared with a little higher about 10 % than that of no exces S supply And the resistivity, mobility and hole density at room temperature of p-type CuGaS$_2$ thin film with best crystalline was 1.4 $\Omega$cm, 15 cm2/V . sec and 2.9$\times$10$^{17}$ cm$^{-3}$ respectively. It was known that carrier concentration had considerable effect than mobility on variety of resistivity of the fabricated CuGaS$_2$ thin film, and the polycrystalline CuGaS$_2$ thin films were made at these conditions were all p-type.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.461-467
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• 2011

Cu(In, Ga)$Se_2$ (CIGS) precursor films were electrodeposited on Mo/glass substrates in acidic solutions containing $Cu^{2+}$, $In^{3+}$, $Ga^{3+}$, and $Se^{4+}$ ions at -0.6 V (SCE) and pH. 1.8. In order to induce recrystallization, the electrodeposited $Cu_{1.00}In_{0.81}Ga_{0.09}Se_{2.08}$ (25.0 at.% Cu + 20.2 at.% In + 2.2 at.% Ga + 52.0 at.% Se) precursor films were annealed under a high Se gas atmosphere for 15, 30, 45, and 60 min, respectively, at $500^{\circ}C$. The Se amount in the film increased from 52 at.% to 62 at.%, whereas the In amount in the film decreased from 20.8 at.% to 9.1 at.% as the annealing time increased from 0 (asdeposited state) to 60 min. These results were attributed to the Se introduced from the furnace atmosphere and reacted with the In present in the precursor films, resulting in the formation of the volatile $In_2Se$. CIGS precursor grains with a cauliflower shape grew as larger grains with the $CuSe_2$ and/or $Cu_{2-x}Se$ faceted phases as the annealing times increased. These faceted phases resulted in rough surface morphologies of the CIGS films. Furthermore, the CIGS layers were not dense because the empty spaces between the grains were not removed via annealing. Uniform thicknesses of the $MoSe_2$ layers occurred at the 45 and 60 min annealing time. This implies that there was a stable reaction between the Mo back electrode and the Se diffused through the CIGS film. The results obtained in the present research were sufficiently different from comparable studies where the recrystallization annealing was performed under an atmosphere of Ar gas only or a low Se gas pressure.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.598-603
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• 2005

To develope new lead-free solders with the melting temperature close to that of Sn-37Pb$(183^{\circ}C)$, Sn-0.7Cu-5Pb-1Ga, Sn-0.7Cu-5Pb-1Ag, Sn-0.7Cu-5Pb-5Bi-1Ag, and Sn-0.7Cu-SBi-1Ag alloys were composed by adding low-netting elements such as Ga, Bi, Pb, and Ag to Sn-0.7Cu. Then the melting temperatures, microstructures, wettability, and adhesion properties of these alloys were evaluated. DSC analysis showed that the melting temperature of Sn-0.7Cu-SPb-1Ga was $211^{\circ}C$, and those of other alloys was in the range of $192\~200^{\circ}C$. Microstructures of these alloys after heat-treatment at $150^{\circ}C$ for 24 hrs were basically composed of coarsely- grown $\beta-Sn$ grains, and $Cu_6Sn_5$ and $Ag_3Sn$ intermetallic precipitates. Sn-0.7Cu-5Pb-1Ga and Sn-0.7Cu-5Pb-5Bi-1Ag showed excellent wettability, while Sn-0.7Cu-5Bi-1Ag and Sn-0.7Cu-5Pb-5Bi-1Ag revealed good adhesion strength with the Cu substrates. Among 4 alloys, Sn-0.7Cu-5Pb-5Bi-1Ag with the lowest melting temperature $(192^{\circ}C)$ and relatively excellent wettability and adhesion strength was suggested to be the best candidate solder to replace Sn-37Pb.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.252-259
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• 2005

Single crystal $CuGaSe_2$ layers were grown on thoroughly etched semi-insulating CaAs(100) substrate at $450^{\circ}C$ with hot wall epitaxy (HWE) system by evaporating $CuGaSe_2$ source at $610^{\circ}C$. The crystalline structure of the single crystal thin films was investigated by the photoluminescence (PL) and double crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXD). The carrier density and mobility of single crystal $CuGaSe_2$ thin films measured with Hall effect by Van der Pauw method are $4.87{\times}10^{17}cm^{-3}$ and $129cm^2/V{\cdot}s$ at 293 K, respectively. The temperature dependence of the energy band gap of the $CuGaSe_2$ obtained from the absorption spectra was well described by the Varshni's relation, $E_g(T)=1.7998eV-(8.7489{\times}10^{-4}eV/K)T^2/(T+335K)$. The voltage, current density of maxiumun power, fill factor, and conversion, efficiency of $n-CdS/p-CuGaSe_2$, heterojunction solar cells under $80mW/cm^2$ illumination were found to be 0.41 V, $21.8mA/cm^2$, 0.75 and 11.17%, respectively.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.32-35
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• 2010

The effects of Cu-addition and die-upset temperature on the texture in the die-upset Nd-lean $Nd_xFe_{93.5-(x+y)}-Cu_yGa_{0.5}B_6$ (x = 9-12, y = 0-2) alloys were investigated. The die-upset Cu-containing Nd-lean $Nd_{12}Fe_{81.5-y}-Cu_yGa_{0.5}B_6$ (y = 1, 2) alloys showed a considerable texture. Texture in the Nd-lean alloys developed through basal plane slip deformation. The Cu-addition reduced the melting point of grain boundary phase facilitating grain gliding during the die-upsetting, and providing a greater chance for the $Nd_2Fe_{14}B$ grains to meet the deformation conditions. Die-upsetting at higher temperature facilitated grain gliding and plastic deformation, thus enhancing texture.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.755-759
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• 2011

$Cu(In_{1-x},Ga_x)Se_2$ thin films have been considered as an effective absorber material for high efficient solar cells. In this paper, the CIGS thin films with varied Ga content were prepared using a co-evaporation process of three stage. We carry out structure and electrical optical property on the thin film in varied Ga content. CIGS thin films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy(EDS), four-point probe measurement, and the Hall measurement. To optimize Ga contents, Ga/(In+Ga) ratio were changed from 0.13 to 0.72. At this time the carrier concentrations were varied from $1.22{\times}10^{11}\;cm^{-3}$ to $5.07{\times}10^{16}\;cm^{-3}$, and electrical resistivity were varied from $1.11{\times}10^0\;{\Omega}-cm$ to $1.08{\times}10^2\;{\Omega}-cm$. A strong <220/204> orientation and a lager grain size were obtained at a Ga/(In+Ga) of 0.3. We were able to achieve conversion efficiency as high as 15.95% with a Ga/(In+Ga) of 0.3.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.125-129
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• 2005

Two kinds of physical treatments were examined for the analysis both of intrinsic surface and interior nature of CuInS $e_2$[CIS] and CuGaS $e_2$[CGS] films grown in separated systems. For the first method, a selenium protection layer which was immediately deposited after the growth of the CIS was investigated. The Se cap layer protects CISe surface from oxidation and contamination during the transport under ambient atmosphere. The Se cap was removed by thermal annealing at temperature above 15$0^{\circ}C$. After the decapping treatment at 2$25^{\circ}C$ for 60 min, ultraviolet photoemission and inverse photoemission measurements of the CIS film showed that its valence band maximum(VBM) and conduction band minimum (CBM) are located at 0.58 eV below and 0.52 eV above the Fermi level $E_{F}$, respectively. For the second treatment, an Ar ion beam etching was exploited. The etching with ion kinetic energy $E_{k}$ above 500 eV resulted in broadening of photoemission spectra of core signals and occasional development of metallic feature around $E_{F}$. These degradations were successfully suppressed by decreasing $E_{k}$ below 400 eV. CGS films etched with the beam of $E_{k}$ = 400 eV showed a band gap of 1.7 eV where $E_{F}$ was almost centered.st centered.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.102-107
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• 2003

This study puts focus on the optimization of growth temperature of CIGS absorber layer which affects severely the performance of solar cells. The CIGS absorber layers were prepared by three-stage co-evaporation of metal elements in the order of In-Ga-Se. The effect of the growth temperature of 1st stage was found not to be so important, and 350$^{\circ}C$ to be the lowest optimum temperature. In the case of growth temperature at 2nd/3rd stage, the optimum temperature was revealed to be 550$^{\circ}C$. The XRD results of CIGS films showed a strong (112) preferred orientation and the Raman spectra of CIGS films showed only the Al mode peak at 173cm$\^$-1/. Scanning electron microscopy results revealed very small grains at 2nd/3rd stage growth temperature of 480$^{\circ}C$. At higher temperatures, the grain size increased together with a reduction in the number of the voids. The optimization of experimental parameters above mentioned, through the repeated fabrication and characterization of unit layers and devices, led to the highest conversion efficiency of 15.4% from CIGS-based thin film solar cell with a structure of Al/ZnO/CdS/CIGS/Mo/glass.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2013

Two different window-structured $CuInGaSe_2$(CIGS) solar cells, i.e., CIGS/thin-CdS/ZnO:B(sample A) and CIGS/very thin-CdS/Zn(S/O)/ZnO:B(sample B), were prepared, and the diffusivity of Zn, Cd, S, and B atoms, respectively, in the CIGS, ZnO or Zn(S/O) layer was estimated by a theoretical fit to experimental secondary ion mass spectrometer data. Diffusivities of Zn, Cd, S, and B atoms in CIGS were $2.0{\times}10^{-13}(1.5{\times}10^{-13})$, $4.6{\times}10^{-13}(4.4{\times}10^{-13})$, $1.6{\times}10^{-13}(1.8{\times}10^{-13})$, and $1.2{\times}10^{-12}cm^2/s$ at 423K, respectively, where the values in parentheses were obtained from sample B and the others from sample A. The diffusivity of the B atom in a Zn(S/O) of sample B was $2.1{\times}10^{-14}cm^2/sec$. Moreover, the diffusivities of Cd and S atoms diffusing back into ZnO(sample A) or Zn(S/O)(sample A) layers were extremely low at 423K, and the estimated diffusion coefficients were $2.2{\times}10^{-15}cm^2/s$ for Cd and $3.0{\times}10^{-15}cm^2/s$ for S.