• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.54-60
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• 2015

ZnSnO thin films were deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) process using diethyl zinc ($Zn(C_2H_5)_2$) and tetrakis (dimethylamino) tin ($Sn(C_2H_6N)_4$) as metal precursors and water vapor as a reactant. ALD process has several advantages over other deposition methods such as precise thickness control, good conformality, and good uniformity for large area. The composition of ZnSnO thin films was controlled by varying the ratio of ZnO and $SnO_2$ ALD cycles. The ALD ZnSnO film was an amorphous state. The band gap of ZnSnO thin films increased as the Sn content increased. The CIGS solar cell using ZnSnO buffer layer showed about 18% energy conversion efficiency. With such a high efficiency with the ALD ZnSnO buffer and no light soaking effect, AlD ZnSnO buffer mighty be a good candidate to replace Zn(S,O) buffer in CIGSsolar cells.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.155-162
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• 2002

The sensing properties of carbon monooxide were investigated as a function of mixing ratio and the lamination structure of 3mol% ZnO-doped $SnO_2$ and 3mol% $SnO_2$-doped ZnO. The lamination structures were fabricared monolayer, double layer, and hetero layer of $SnO_2$, Zno, and theirs mixture composition using thick film process. There was no second phase by the reaction of $SnO_2$ and ZnO. The conductance was decreased by the addition of ZnO in $SnO_2$, but it was increased with the addition of $SnO_2$ in ZnO. The conductance was increased with temperature and the inlet of CO. There was no improvement of sensitivity in the structure of mono- and double-layer. The hetero-layer structure, however, of $SnO_2$ 3ZnO-ZnO $3SnO_2$ showed the higher resistivity and the highest sensitivity. Ohmic characteristics was confirmed by the linear properties for I-V measurements.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.67 no.1
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• pp.68-74
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• 2018

All transparent UV photodetector based on ZnO was fabricated with structure of NiO/ZnO/$SnO_2$/ITO by using RF and DC magnetron sputtering system. ZnO was deposited with 4 inch ZnO target (purity 99.99%) for a quality film. In order to build p-n junction up, p-type NiO was formed on n-type ZnO by using reactive sputtering method. The indium tin oxide (ITO) which is transparent conducting oxide (TCO) was applied as a transparent electrode for transporting electrons. To improve the UV photodetector performance, a functional $SnO_2$ layer was selected as an electron transporting and hole blocking layer, which actively controls the carrier movement, between ZnO and ITO. The photodetector (NiO/ZnO/$SnO_2$/ITO) shows transmittance over 50% as similar as the transmittance of a general device (NiO/ZnO/ITO) due to the high transmittance of $SnO_2$ for broad wavelengths. The functional $SnO_2$ layer for band alignment effectively enhances the photo-current to be $15{\mu}A{\cdot}cm^{-2}$ (from $7{\mu}A{\cdot}cm^{-2}$ of without $SnO_2$) with the quick photo-responses of rise time (0.83 ms) and fall time (15.14 ms). We demonstrated the all transparent UV photodetector based on ZnO and suggest the route for effective designs to enhance performance for transparent photoelectric applications.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.239-245
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• 2021

The SnSe single crystal shows an outstanding figure of merit (ZT) of 2.6 at 973 K; thus, it is considered to be a promising thermoelectric material. However, the mass production of SnSe single crystals is difficult, and their mechanical properties are poor. Alternatively, we can use polycrystalline SnSe powder, which has better mechanical properties. In this study, surface modification by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is chosen to increase the ZT value of SnSe polycrystalline powder. SnSe powder is ground by a ball mill. An ALD coating process using a rotary-type reactor is adopted. ZnO thin films are grown by 100 ALD cycles using diethylzinc and H₂O as precursors at 100℃. ALD is performed at rotation speeds of 30, 40, 50, and 60 rpm to examine the effects of rotation speed on the thin film characteristics. The physical and chemical properties of ALD-coated SnSe powders are characterized by scanning and tunneling electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The results reveal that a smooth oxygen-rich ZnO layer is grown on SnSe at a rotation speed of 30 rpm. This result can be applied for the uniform coating of a ZnO layer on various powder materials.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 2015

In this study, $Si_3N_4$/SnZnO/AZO/Ag/Ti/ITO multi-layer film were prepared on glass substrate by DC/RF magnetron sputtering method. To prevent interfacial reaction between Ag and ITO layer, Ti buffer layer was inserted. Optical properties and sheet resistance were studied depending on laminating times of each multi-layered film especially in visible ray. The simulation program, EMP (essential macleod program), was adopted and compared with experimental data to expect the experimental result. It was found out that the transmittance of the first stacked $Si_3N_4$/SnZnO/AZO/Ag/Ti/ITO multi-layer film was more than 90%. However, with increasing stacking times, the optical properties of $Si_3N_4$/SnZnO/AZO/Ag/Ti/ITO multi-layer film get worse. Consequently, Ti layer is good for oxidation barrier, but too many uses of this layer may have an adverse effect to optical properties of TCO film.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.287-292
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• 2001

본 실험은 목적은 CRT(Cathode Ray Tube)용 청색 형광체인 ZnS:Ag 분말 표면에 액상법으로 SnO$_2$를 균일하게 코팅하는 공정조건을 연구하는 것이다. 용매로서 물을 사용하고, Sn의 공급물질로서 SnCl$_4$.4$H_2O$, 침전 촉매로서 CO(NH$_2$)$_2$를 각각 사용하여, 균일 침전 방법으로 ZnS:Ag 분말표면에 SnO$_2$를 코팅할 수 있었다. 초기에 첨가되는 SnCl$_4$.4$H_2O$의 량이 Sn/Zn의 몰비기준으로 0.017인 경우에 ZnS:Ag 분말표면에 Sn(OH)$_4$가 균일하게 코팅되지만, 그 이상 첨가되면 과량의 Sn(OH)$_4$가 입자들 사이에 응집되었다. 코팅된 Sn(OH)$_4$는 비정질 구조로 규명되었으며, 이를 SnO$_2$결정상으로 전이시키기 위하여 300~$700^{\circ}C$ 범위 내에서 열처리를 행하였다. 비정질 Sn(OH)$_4$는 20$0^{\circ}C$이하에서 탈수되었고 45$0^{\circ}C$부터 SnO$_2$로 결정화되기 시작하였다. 순수한 ZnS의 경우, 50$0^{\circ}C$이하에서는 상변화가 없으나, $600^{\circ}C$에서 일부 산화되었으며 $700^{\circ}C$에서는 완전히 ZnO로 산화되므로, ZnS의 산화방지 및 SnO$_2$의 결정화를 동시에 만족하는 최고 열처리온도는 50$0^{\circ}C$로 규명되었다. 그러나 ZnS에 SnO$_2$가 코팅된 시편의 경우에는 $600^{\circ}C$가 되어도 ZnS 상이 거의 산화되지 않았고, $700^{\circ}C$에서도 ZnS와 ZnO 상이 공존한 것으로 보아 SnO$_2$코팅이 ZnS의 산화를 억제하는 것으로 나타났다.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.566-572
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• 2020

In the recent years, thin film solar cells (TFSCs) have emerged as a viable replacement for crystalline silicon solar cells and offer a variety of choices, particularly in terms of synthesis processes and substrates (rigid or flexible, metal or insulator). Among the thin-film absorber materials, SnS has great potential for the manufacturing of low-cost TFSCs due to its suitable optical and electrical properties, non-toxic nature, and earth abundancy. However, the efficiency of SnS-based solar cells is found to be in the range of 1 ~ 4 % and remains far below those of CdTe-, CIGS-, and CZTSSe-based TFSCs. Aside from the improvement in the physical properties of absorber layer, enormous efforts have been focused on the development of suitable buffer layer for SnS-based solar cells. Herein, we investigate the device performance of SnS-based TFSCs by introducing double buffer layers, in which CdS is applied as first buffer layer and ZnMgO films is employed as second buffer layer. The effect of the composition ratio (Mg/(Mg+Zn)) of RF sputtered ZnMgO films on the device performance is studied. The structural and optical properties of ZnMgO films with various Mg/(Mg+Zn) ratios are also analyzed systemically. The fabricated SnS-based TFSCs with device structure of SLG/Mo/SnS/CdS/ZnMgO/AZO/Al exhibit a highest cell efficiency of 1.84 % along with open-circuit voltage of 0.302 V, short-circuit current density of 13.55 mA cm^-2, and fill factor of 0.45 with an optimum Mg/(Mg + Zn) ratio of 0.02.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.420-426
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• 2020

A metal oxide semiconductor gas sensor is operated by measuring the changes in resistance that occur on the surface of nanostructures for gas detection. ZnO, which is an n-type metal oxide semiconductor, is widely used as a gas sensor material owing to its high sensitivity. Various ZnO nanostructures in gas sensors have been studied with the aim of improving surface reactions. In the present study, the sol-gel and vapor phase growth techniques were used to fabricate nanostructures to improve the sensitivity, response, and recovery rate for gas sensing. The sol-gel method was used to synthesize SnO₂ nanoparticles, which were used as the seed layer. The nanoparticles size was controlled by regulating the process parameters of the solution, such as the pH of the solution, the type and amount of solvent. As a result, the SnO₂ seed layer suppressed the aggregation of the nanostructures, thereby interrupting gas diffusion. The ZnO nanostructures with a sol-gel processed SnO₂ seed layer had larger specific surface area and high sensitivity. The gas response and recovery rate were 1-7 min faster than the gas sensor without the sol-gel process. The gas response increased 4-24 times compared to that of the gas sensor without the sol-gel method.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.164-168
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• 2011

Etch selectivities of mask materials to ZnO and $SnO_2$ films were studied in $BCl_3$/Ar and $CF_4$/Ar inductively coupled plasmas for fabrication of nanostructure-based gas sensing layer with high aspect ratios. In $25BCl_3$/10Ar ICP discharges, selectivities of 5.1~6.1 were obtained for ZnO over Ni while no practical selectivity was obtained for ZnO over Al. High selectivities of 7 ~ 17 for ZnO over Ni were produced in $25CF_4$/10Ar mixtures. $SnO_2$ showed much higher etch rates than Ni and a maximum selectivity of 67 was observed for $SnO_2$ over Ni.

• Applied Science and Convergence Technology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.301-307
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• 2014

We have fabricated $SnO_2$/Zn core-shell nanowires by employing a sputtering technique with a Zn target. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that the surface of the nanowires became rougher by the coating. X-ray diffraction of the coated nanowires exhibited the hexagonal Zn diffraction peaks. TEM image of coated structures showed that shell layer was mainly comprised of hexagonal Zn phase. EDX spectra suggested that the shell layer consisted of Zn elements. The photoluminescence spectrum of the coated nanowires in conjunction with Gaussian fitting analysis revealed that the emission was disconvoluted with three Gaussian functions, which are centered at 2.1 eV in the yellow region, 2.4 eV in the green region, and 3.3 eV in the ultraviolet region. We speculated the possible mechanisms of these emission peaks.