• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.63-67
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• 2017

Aluminum oxide ($Al_2O_3$) film deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is known to supply excellent surface passivation properties on crystalline Si surface. The quality of passivation layer is important for high-efficiency silicon solar cell. double-layer structures have many advantages over single-layer materials. $Al_2O_3/SiN_X$ passivation stacks have been widely adopted for high- efficiency silicon solar cells. The first layer, $Al_2O_3$, passivates the surface, while $SiN_X$ acts as a hydrogen source that saturates silicon dangling bonds during annealing treatment. We explored the properties on passivation film of $Al_2O_3/SiN_X$ stack layer with changing the conditions. For the post annealing temperature, it was found that $500^{\circ}C$ is the most suitable temperature to improvement surface passivation.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.41-45
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• 2014

We have investigated the passivation property of $SiN_x$ and $SiO_2$ thin films formed using various process conditions for the application of crystalline Si solar cells. An increase in the thickness of $SiN_x$ deposited using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) led to the improvement of passivation quality. This could be associated with the passivation of Si dangling bonds by hydrogen atoms which were supplied during PECVD deposition. The $SiO_2$ thin films grown using dry oxidation process exhibited better passivation behavior than those using wet oxidation process, implying the dry oxidation process was more effective in the formation of high quality $SiO_2$ thin films. The relative effective life time gradually decreased with increasing dry oxidation temperature. Such a degradation of passivation behavior could be attributed to the increase in interface trap density caused by thermal damages.

• The Korean Journal of Ceramics
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.92-95
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• 1997

Because of the novel characteristics such as chemical stability, hardness, electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity, diamond-like carbon (DLC) film is a suitable material for the passivation layers. For this purpose, using the PECVD, DLC films were synthesized at room temperature. The adhesion and the hardness of the DLC films deposited on Si an SiO2 substrate were measured. The resistivity of 5.3$\times$$10^8$$\Omega$.cm was measured by automatic spreading resistance probe analysis method. The thermal conductivities of different DLC films were measured and compared with that of phospho silicate glass (PSG) film which is commonly used as passivation layers. The thermal conductivity of DLC film was improved by increasing hydrogen flow rate up to 90 sccm and was better than that of PSG film. The patterning techniques of the DLC film developed using the RIE and the lift-off method to form 5$\mu\textrm{m}$ line. Finally, the thermal characteristics of the power transistor with the DLC film as passiviation layer was analyzed.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2009

Hydrogen production by the reaction of aluminum alloys and NaOH solution was studied for an automotive proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) application. In our experiment conditions($30{\sim}75^{\circ}C$, NaOH $0.5{\sim}5M$), passivation of aluminum was not occurred. Higher rate of hydrogen production was observed at the reaction with Al alloys that contain impurities. With an increase in reaction temperature, hydrogen production rate by an increase in NaOH concentration increased much. When hydrogen was fed into the anode without filtering, PEMFC cell performance decreased 35% by ionic contamination such as $Na^+$ on the membrane and electrode. Thus, filtering of produced hydrogen is necessary for PEMFC operation.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.276-283
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• 2017

A polysilicon-based metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector was fabricated by means of our new methods. Its photoresponse characteristics were analyzed to see if it could be applied to a sensor system. The processes on which this study focused were an alloy-annealing process to form metal-polysilicon contacts, a post-annealing process for better light absorption of as-deposited polysilicon, and a passivation process for lowering defect density in polysilicon. When the alloy annealing was achieved at about $400^{\circ}C$, metal-polysilicon Schottky contacts sustained a stable potential barrier, decreasing the dark current. For better surface morphology of polysilicon, rapid thermal annealing (RTA) or furnace annealing at around $900^{\circ}C$ was suitable as a post-annealing process, because it supplied polysilicon layers with a smoother surface and a proper grain size for photon absorption. For the passivation of defects in polysilicon, hydrogen-ion implantation was chosen, because it is easy to implant hydrogen into the polysilicon. MSM photodetectors based on the suggested processes showed a higher sensitivity for photocurrent detection and a stable Schottky contact barrier to lower the dark current and are therefore applicable to sensor systems.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2023

In a solar cell, degradation refers to the decrease in performance parameters caused by defects originated due to various causes. During the fabrication process of solar cells, degradation is generally related to the processes such as passivation or firing. There exist sources of many types of degradation; however, the exact cause of Light and elevated Temperature Induced Degradation (LeTID) is yet to be determined. It is reported that the degradation and the regeneration occur due to the recombination of hydrogen and an arbitrary substance. In this paper, we report the deposition of Al₂O₃ and SiN_X on silicon wafers used in the Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact (PERC) solar structure and its degradation pattern. A higher degradation rate was observed in the sample with single layer of Al₂O₃ only, which indicates that the degradation is affected by the presence or the absence of a passivation thin film. In order to alleviate the degradation, optimization of different steps should be carried out in consideration of degradation in the solar cell fabrication process.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.197-200
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• 2014

We investigated the influence of blistering on $Al_2O_3$/SiON stacks and $Al_2O_3$/SiNx:H stacks passivation layers. $Al_2O_3$ film provides outstanding Si surface passivation quality. $Al_2O_3$ film as the rear passivation layer of a p-type Si solar cell is usually stacked with a capping layer, such as $SiO_2$, SiNx, and SiON films. These capping layers protect the thin $Al_2O_3$ layer from an Al electrode during the annealing process. We compared $Al_2O_3$/SiON stacks and $Al_2O_3$/SiNx:H stacks through surface morphology and minority carrier lifetime after annealing processes at $450^{\circ}C$ and $850^{\circ}C$. As a result, the $Al_2O_3$/SiON stacks were observed to produce less blister phenomenon than $Al_2O_3$/SiNx:H stacks. This can be explained by the differences in the H species content. In the process of depositing SiNx film, the rich H species in $NH_3$ source are diffused to the $Al_2O_3$ film. On the other hand, less hydrogen diffusion occurs in SiON film as it contains less H species than SiNx film. This blister phenomenon leads to an increase insurface defect density. Consequently, the $Al_2O_3$/SiON stacks had a higher minority carrier lifetime than the $Al_2O_3$/SiNx:H stacks.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.29-40
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• 1993

Intensive studies on the electrochemical characteristics of TiFe type alloy electrodes have been carried out to clarify the mechanism of electrochemical hydrogen absorption and desorption. It was found that electrochemical activation of the TiFe type alloys is difficult and that charge efficiencies are very low even after a decade of activation cycles. However, by the pretreatment of the powders such as gas activation and/or Ni chemical plating, charge efficiencies fairly increased, especially for the $TiFe_{0.8}Ni_{0.2}$ alloy. It was considered that difficulties to activation and lower charge efficies of the alloys are due to the presence of the passivation films, which prohibit inward diffusion of hydrogen and promote the combination of adsorbed hydrogen atom to gas bubbles during the electrochemical charge. In addition, lower diffusivity of hydrogen in the alloys may be played an important role lowering the charge efficiencies.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.56-56
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• 2018

Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) have attracted attention due to their high electrical conductivity and optical transparency in the visible region. Consequently, TCOs have been widely used as electrode materials in various electronic devices such as flat panel displays and solar cells. Previous studies on TCOs focused on their electrical and optical performances; there have been numerous attempts to improve these properties, such as chemical doping and crystallinity enhancement. Recently, due to rapidly increasing demand for flexible electronics, the academic interest in the mechanical stability of materials has come to the fore as a major issue. In particular, long-term stability under bending is a crucial requirement for flexible electrodes; however, research on this feature is still in the nascent stage. Hydrogen-incorporated amorphous In-Sn-O (a-ITO) thin films were fabricated by introducing hydrogen gas during deposition. The hydrogen concentration in the film was determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry and was found to vary from $4.7{\times}10^{20}$ to $8.1{\times}10^{20}cm^{-3}$ with increasing $H_2$ flow rate. The mechanical stability of the a-ITO thin films dramatically improved because of hydrogen incorporation, without any observable degradation in their electrical or optical properties. With increasing hydrogen concentration, the compressive residual stress gradually decreased and the subgap absorption at around 3.1 eV was suppressed. Considering that the residual stress and subgap absorption mainly originated from defects, hydrogen may be a promising candidate for defect passivation in flexible electronics.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.437-444
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• 2014

The electrochemical corrosion and passivation of Co-RDE in borate buffer solution was studied by Potentiodynamic and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The mechanisms of both the active dissolution and passivation of cobalt and the hydrogen evolution in reduction reaction were hypothetically established while utilizing the Tafel slope, the rotation speed of Co-RDE, impedance data and the pH dependence of corrosion potential. Based on the EIS data, an equivalent circuit was suggested. In addition, the electrochemical parameters for specific anodic dissolution regions were carefully measured. An induction loop in Nyquist plot measured at the open-circuit potential was observed in the low frequency, and this could be attributed to the adsorption-desorption behavior in the corrosion process.