• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.39-43
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• 2023

Carrier-selective contacts (CSCs) solar cells are considerably attractive on highly efficient crystalline silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells due to their advantages of high thermal tolerance and the simple fabrication process. CSCs solar cells require a hole selective contact (HSC) layer that selectively collects only holes. In order to selectively collect holes, it must have a work function characteristic of 5.0 eV or more when contacted with n-type Si. The VO_x, NiO_x, and CuI_x thin films were fabricated and analyzed respectively to confirm their potential usage as a hole-selective contact (HSC) layer. All thin films showed characteristics of band-gap engergy > 3.0 eV, work function > 5.0 eV and minority carrier lifetime > 1.5 ms.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.224-229
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• 2010

$Ni-Si_3N_4$ nano-composite coatings were prepared by pulse current (PC) electrodeposition and direct current (DC) electrodeposition techniques. The micro-structure of the coatings was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vickers microhardness, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and wear-friction tests. The results showed that the micro-structure and wear performance of the coatings were affected by the electrodeposition techniques. Pulse current electrodeposited $Ni-Si_3N_4$ composite coatings exhibited higher microhardness, smooth surface, and better wear resistance properties as compared to coatings prepared under DC condition. The $Ni-Si_3N_4$ composite coatings prepared at 50 Hz pulse frequency with 10% duty cycles has shown higher codeposition of nano-particles. Consequently, increased microhardness and less plastic deformations occurred in coatings during sliding wear test. The XRD patterns revealed that the increased pulse frequencies changed the preferred (100) nickel crystallite orientations into mixed (111) and (100) orientations.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.846-850
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• 2004

NiCo silicide films have been fabricated from $300{\AA}-thick\;Ni_{1-x}Co_{x}(x=0.1\sim0.9)$ on Si-substrates by varying RTA(rapid thermal annealing) temperatures from $700^{\circ}C\;to\;1100^{\circ}C$ for 40 sec. Sheet resistance, cross-sectional microstructure, and chemical composition evolution were measured by a four point probe, a transmission electron microscope(TEM), and an Auger depth profilemeter, respectively. For silicides of the all composition and temperatures except for $80\%$ of the Ni composition, we observed small sheet resistance of sub- $7\;{\Omega}/sq.,$ which was stable even at $1100^{\circ}C$. We report that our newly proposed NiCo silicides may obtain sub 50 nm-thick films by tunning the nickel composition and silicidation temperature. New NiCo silicides from NiCo-alloys may be more appropriate for sub-0.1${\mu}m$ CMOS process, compared to conventional single phase or stacked composit silicides.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.10 no.9
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• pp.601-606
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• 2000

Nickel mono-silicide(NiSi) shows no increase of resistivity as the line width decreases below 0.15$\mu\textrm{m}$. Furthermore, thin silicide can be made easily and restrain the redistribution of dopants, because NiSi in created through the reaction of one nickel atom and one silicon atom. Therefore, we investigated the deposition condition of Ni films, heat treatment condition and basic properties of NiSi films which are expected to be employed for sub-0.15$\mu\textrm{m}$ class devices. The nickel silicide film was deposited on the Si wafer by using a dc-magnetron sputter, then annealed at the temperature range of $150~1000^{\circ}C$. Surface roughness of each specimen was measured by using a SPM (scanning probe microscope). Microstructure and qualitative composition analysis were executed by a TEM-EDS(transmission electron microscope-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscope). Electrical properties of the materials at each annealing temperature were measured by a four-point probe. As the results of our study, we may conclude that; 1. SPM can be employed as a non-destructive process to monitor NiSi/NiSi$_2$ transformation. 2. For annealing temperature over $800^{\circ}C$, oxygen pressure $Po_2$ should be kept below $1.5{\times}10^{-11}torr$ to avoid oxidation of residual Ni. 3. NiSi to $NiSi_2$ transformation temperature in our study was $700^{\circ}C$ from the four-point probe measurement.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.478-482
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• 2021

The catalytic yields of partial oxidation of methane (POM) to hydrogen over Ln(1)-Ni(5)/SBA-15 (Ln = Dy, Eu, Pr, and Tb) were investigated in a fixed bed flow reactor under atmosphere. As 1 wt% of Eu was added to Ni(5)/SBA-15 catalyst, the O1s and Si2p core electron levels of Eu(1)-Ni(5)/SBA-15 showed the chemical shift by XPS. XPS analysis also demonstrated that the atomic ratio of O1s, Ni2p_3/2, and Si2p increased to 1.284, 1.298, and 1.058, respectively, and exhibited O^-, and O^2- oxygen and metal ions such as Eu³⁺, Ni⁰, Ni²⁺, and Si⁴⁺ on the catalyst surface. The yield of hydrogen on the Eu(1)-Ni(5)/SBA-15 was 57.2%, which was better than that of Ln(1)-Ni(5)/SBA-15 (Ln = Dy, Pr, and Tb), the catalytic activity was kept steady even 25 h. As 1 wt% of Eu was added to Ni(5)/SBA-15, the oxygen vacancies caused by strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) effect due to the strong interaction between metals and carrier are made. They are resulted in increasing the dispersion of Ni⁰, and Ni²⁺ nano particles on the surface of catalyst, and are kept catalytic activity.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.87-95
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• 2017

Lithium silicate, a lithium-ion conducting ceramic, is coated on a layer-structured lithium nickel manganese oxide ($LiNi_{0.7}Mn_{0.3}O_2$). Residual lithium compounds ($Li_2CO_3$ and LiOH) on the surface of the cathode material and $SiO_2$ derived from tetraethylorthosilicate are used as lithium and silicon sources, respectively. Powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy analyses show that lithium silicate is coated uniformly on the cathode particles. Charge and discharge tests of the samples show that the coating can enhance the rate capability and cycle life performance. The improvements are attributed to the reduced interfacial resistance originating from suppression of solid-electrolyte interface (SEI) formation and dissolution of Ni and Mn due to the coating. An X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of the cycled electrodes shows that nickel oxide and manganese oxide particles are formed on the surface of the electrode and that greater decomposition of the electrolyte occurs for the bare sample, which confirms the assumption that SEI formation and Ni and Mn dissolution can be reduced using the coating process.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.156-168
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• 2023

This study investigates the high temperature oxidation behaviour of a Ni-20Cr-1.2Si (wt.%) alloy in steam from 1200 ℃ to 1350 ℃ by Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The results demonstrate that exposed Ni-based alloy developed a thin oxide scale, consisted mainly of Cr₂O₃. The oxidation kinetics obtained from the experimental results was applied to evaluate the hydrogen generation considering a simplified reactor core model with different cladding alloys following an unmitigated Loss-Of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) scenario in a hypothetical Small Modular Reactor (SMR). Overall, experimental data and simulations results show that both Fe-based and Ni-based alloys may enhance cladding survivability, delaying its melting, as well as reducing hydrogen generation under accident conditions compared to Zr-based alloys. However, a substantial neutron absorption occurs when Ni-based alloys are used as cladding for current uranium-dioxide fuel systems, even when compared to Fe-based alloys.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.88-96
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• 2008

Thermal evaporated 10 nm-$Ni_{50}Co_{50}$/(70 nm-poly)Si films were deposited to examine the energy saving properties of silicides formed by rapid thermal annealing at temperature ranging from 500 to $1,100^{\circ}C$ for 40 seconds. Thermal evaporated 10 nm-Ni/(70 nm-poly)Si films were also deposited as a reference using the same method for depositing the 10 nm-$Ni_{50}Co_{50}$/(70 nm-poly)Si films. A four-point probe was used to examine the sheet resistance. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction XRD were used to determine cross sectional microstructure and phase changes, respectively. UV-VIS-NIR and FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) were used to examine the near-infrared (NIR) and middle-infrared (MIR) absorbance. TEM analysis confirmed that the uniform nickel-cobalt composite silicide layers approximately 21 to 55 nm in thickness had formed on the single and polycrystalline silicon substrates as well as on the 25 to 100 nm thick nickel silicide layers. In particular, nickel-cobalt composite silicides showed a low sheet resistance, even after rapid annealing at $1,100^{\circ}C$. Nickel-cobalt composite silicide and nickel silicide films on the single silicon substrates showed similar absorbance in the near-IR region, while those on the polycrystalline silicon substrates showed excellent absorbance until the 1,750 nm region. Silicides on polycrystalline substrates showed high absorbance in the middle IR region. Nickel-cobalt composite silicides on the poly-Si substrates annealed at $1,000^{\circ}C$ superior IR absorption on both NIR and MIR region. These results suggest that the newly proposed $Ni_{50}Co_{50}$ composite silicides may be suitable for applications of IR absorption coatings.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2007

For the sub-65 nm CMOS process, it is necessary to develop a new silicide material and an accompanying process that allows the silicide to maintain a low sheet resistance and to have an enhanced thermal stability, thus providing for a wider process window. In this study, we have evaluated the property and unit process compatibility of newly proposed composite silicides. We fabricated composite silicide layers on single crystal silicon from $10nm-Ni_{1-x}Co_x/single-crystalline-Si(100),\;10nm-Ni_{1-x}Co_x/poly-crystalline-\;Si(100)$ wafers (x=0.2, 0.5, and 0.8) with the purpose of mimicking the silicides on source and drain actives and gates. Both the film structures were prepared by thermal evaporation and silicidized by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) from $700^{\circ}C\;to\;1100^{\circ}C$ for 40 seconds. The sheet resistance, cross-sectional microstructure, surface composition, were investigated using a four-point probe, a field emission scanning probe microscope, a field ion beam, an X-ray diffractometer, and an Auger electron depth profi1ing spectroscopy, respectively. Finally, our newly proposed composite silicides had a stable resistance up to $1100^{\circ}C$ and maintained it below $20{\Omega}/Sg$., while the conventional NiSi was limited to $700^{\circ}C$. All our results imply that the composite silicide made from NiCo alloy films may be a possible candidate for 65 nm-CMOS devices.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.65-73
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• 2019

The catalytic activity of Ni-0.2%YSZ (Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia) with different promoters was evaluated for $CO_2$ methanation. The catalysts were weighed for mixing and they were dried at $110^{\circ}C$ for molding into disks. The concentration of $CO_2$ and $CH_4$ for conducting of $CO_2$ methanation were analyzed by gas chromatography and the physical characteristics of the disk-type catalyst formed were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer. The addition of $CeO_2$ as a promoter for Ni-0.2%YSZ (denoted as Ni-5%Ce-0.2%YSZ) resulted in the highest $CO_2$ methanation. It also showed catalytic activity at a low temperature($200^{\circ}C$). Following this, $ZrO_2$, $SiO_2$, $Al_2O_3$ and $TiO_2$ were added to Ni-5%Ce-0.2%YSZ to compare the $CO_2$ methanation, and the highest efficiency was found for. Ni-1%Ti-5%Ce-0.2%YSZ Then, the concentration of Ti was increased to 10% and the catalytic activity was estimated using seven different types of commercial $TiO_2$. In conclusion, ST-01 $TiO_2$ showed the highest efficiency for $CO_2$ methanation.