• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.375-375
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• 2010

CdTe as an absorber material is widely used in thin film solar cells with the heterostructure due to its almost ideal band gap energy of 1.45 eV, high photovoltaic conversion efficiency, low cost and stable performance. The deposition methods and preparation conditions for the fabrication of CdTe are very important for the achievement of high solar cell conversion efficiency. There are some rearranged reports about the deposition methods available for the preparation of CdTe thin films such as close spaced sublimation (CSS), physical vapor deposition (PVD), vacuum evaporation, vapor transport deposition (VTD), closed space vapor transport, electrodeposition, screen printing, spray pyrolysis, metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), and RF sputtering. The RF sputtering method for the preparation of CdTe thin films has important advantages in that the thin films can be prepared at low growth temperatures with large-area deposition suitable for mass-production. The authors reported that the optical and electrical properties of CdTe thin film were closely connected by the thickness-uniformity of the film in the previous study [1], which means that the better optical absorbance and the higher carrier concentration could be obtained in the better condition of thickness-uniformity for CdTe thin film. The thickness-uniformity could be controlled and improved by the some process parameters such as vacuum level and RF power in the sputtering process of CdTe thin films. However, there is a limitation to improve the thickness-uniformity only in the preparation process [1]. So it is necessary to introduce the external or additional method for improving the thickness-uniformity of CdTe thin film because the cell size of thin film solar cell will be enlarged. Therefore, the authors firstly applied the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process to improving the thickness-uniformity of CdTe thin films with a G&P POLI-450 CMP polisher [2]. CMP process is the most important process in semiconductor manufacturing processes in order to planarize the surface of the wafer even over 300 mm and to form the copper interconnects with damascene process. Some important CMP characteristics for CdTe were obtained including removal rate (RR), WIWNU%, RMS roughness, and peak-to-valley roughness [2]. With these important results, the CMP process for CdTe thin films was performed to improve the thickness-uniformity of the sputtering-deposited CdTe thin film which had the worst two thickness-uniformities of them. Some optical properties including optical transmittance and absorbance of the CdTe thin films were measured by using a UV-Visible spectrophotometer (Varian Techtron, Cary500scan) in the range of 400 - 800 nm. After CMP process, the thickness-uniformities became better than that of the best condition in the previous sputtering process of CdTe thin films. Consequently, the optical properties were directly affected by the thickness-uniformity of CdTe thin film. The absorbance of CdTe thin films was improved although the thickness of CdTe thin film was not changed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.244-244
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• 2010

Doping process of crystalline silicon solar cell process is very important which is as influential on efficiency of solar. Doping process consists of pre -deposition and diffusion. Each of these processes is important in the process temperature and process time. Through these process conditions variable, p-n junction depth can be controled to low and high. In this paper, we studied a optimized doping pre-deposition temperature for high solar cell efficiency. Using a $200{\mu}m$ thickness multi-crystalline silicon wafer, fixed conditions are texture condition, sheet resistance($50\;{\Omega}/sq$), ARC thickness(80nm), metal formation condition and edge isolation condition. The three variable conditions of pre-deposition temperature are $790^{\circ}C$, $805^{\circ}C$ and $820^{\circ}C$. In the $790^{\circ}C$ pre-deposition temperature, we achieved a best solar cell efficiency of 16.2%. Through this experiment result, we find a high efficiency condition in a low pre-deposition temperature than the high pre-deposition temperature. We optimized a pre-deposition temperature for high solar cell efficiency.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.4 no.8
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• pp.861-869
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• 1994

Chemical vapor deposition using titanium tetra isopropoxide(TTIP) was employed to investigate effects of process parameters on the uniformity of $TiO_{2}$this films deposited on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO)coated glass. Deposition experiments were carried out at temperatures ranging from $300^{\circ}C$ to $400^{\circ}C$ under the pressure of 0.5~2 torrin a cold wall reactor which can handle 200mm substrate. It was found that the growth rate of $TiO_{2}$was closely related to the reaction temperature and the ractant gas compositions. Apparent activation energy for the deposition rate was 62.7lkJ/mol in the absence of $O_{2}$ and 100.4kj/mol in the presence of $O_{2}$, respectively. Homogeneous reactions in the gas phase were promoted when the total pressure of the reactor was increased. Variance in the film thickness was less than a few percent, but at high deposition rates film thickness was less uniform. Effects of reaction temperature on $TiO_{2}$ thin film characteristic was investigated with SEM, XRD and AES.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.156-159
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• 2011

SiNx:H films have been widely used for anti-reflection coatings and passivation for crystalline silicon solar cells. In this study, SiNx:H films were deposited using high frequency (13.56 MHz) direct plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, and the optical and passivation properties were investigated. The radio frequency power, the spacing between the showerhead and wafer, the $NH_3/SiH_4$ ratio, the total gas flow, and the $N_2$ gas flow were changed over certain ranges for the film deposition. The thickness uniformity, the refractive index, and the minority carrier lifetime were then measured in order to study the properties of the film. The optimal deposition conditions for application to crystalline Si solar cells are determined from the results of this study.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.67-74
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• 2008

In this paper, the surface characteristics of the AIP-TiN coated of the SKH51 and SKD11 steels under various deposition times are presented with emphasis on the comparison of the two materials. The micro-particle, the surface roughness, the micro-hardness, the coated layer thickness, the atomic distribution of Ti, N and Fe elements and the adhesion are measured for various deposition times. It has been shown that the micro-particle, the surface roughness, the coated layer thickness and the atomic distribution of Ti, N and Fe elements are similar for the two cases regardless of the test deposition time from 10 to 180 minutes. However, it has been shown that the micro-hardness and the adhesion of the SKH51 steel are higher than the SKD11 steel, indicating that they are much affected by the hardness of the material to be coated.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.202-207
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• 2024

In this study, we undertook detailed experiments to increase hydrogen production efficiency by optimizing the thickness of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) thin films. TiO₂ films were deposited on p-type silicon (Si) wafers using atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology. The main goal was to identify the optimal thickness of TiO₂ film that would maximize hydrogen production efficiency while maintaining stable operating conditions. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of the TiO₂ films of different thicknesses were evaluated using open circuit potential (OCP) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) analysis. These techniques play a pivotal role in evaluating the electrochemical behavior and photoactivity of semiconductor materials in PEC systems. Our results showed photovoltage tended to improve with increasing thickness of TiO₂ deposition. However, this improvement was observed to plateau and eventually decline when the thickness exceeded 1.5 nm, showing a correlation between charge transfer efficiency and tunneling. On the other hand, LSV analysis showed bare Si had the greatest efficiency, and that the deposition of TiO₂ caused a positive change in the formation of photovoltage, but was not optimal. We show that oxide tunneling-capable TiO₂ film thicknesses of 1~2 nm have the potential to improve the efficiency of PEC hydrogen production systems. This study not only reveals the complex relationship between film thickness and PEC performance, but also enabled greater efficiency and set a benchmark for future research aimed at developing sustainable hydrogen production technologies.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.469-475
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• 2013

Al-doped ZnO(AZO) thin films were synthesized using atomid layer deposition(ALD), which acurately controlled the uniform film thickness of the AZO thin films. To investigate the electrical and optical properites of the AZO thin films, AZO films using ALD was controlled to be three different thicknesses (50 nm, 100 nm, and 150 nm). The structural, chemical, electrical, and optical properties of the AZO thin films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field-emssion scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Hall measurement system, and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. As the thickness of the AZO thin films increased, the crystallinity of the AZO thin films gradually increased, and the surface morphology of the AZO thin films were transformed from a porous structure to a dense structure. The average surface roughnesses of the samples using atomic force microscopy were ~3.01 nm, ~2.89 nm, and ~2.44 nm, respectively. As the thickness of the AZO filmsincreased, the surface roughness decreased gradually. These results affect the electrical and optical properties of AZO thin films. Therefore, the thickest AZO thin films with 150 nm exhibited excellent resistivity (${\sim}7.00{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$), high transmittance (~83.2 %), and the best FOM ($5.71{\times}10^{-3}{\Omega}^{-1}$). AZO thin films fabricated using ALD may be used as a promising cadidate of TCO materials for optoelectronic applications.

• 한국태양에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2012.03a
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• pp.400-403
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• 2012

$Cu_2ZnSnSe_4$(CZTSe) is emerged as a promising material for thin-film solar cells because of non-toxic, inexpensive and earth abundant more than $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ materials. For fabricating compound semiconductor thin-film solar cells, CdS is widely used for a buffer layer which fabricated by a chemical bath deposition method (CBD). Through the experiment, we controlled deposition temperature and mol ratio of solution conditions to find the proper grain 크기 and exact composition. The optimum CdS layers were characterized in terms of surface morphology by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The optimized CdS layer process was applied on CZTSe thin-films. The thickness of buffer layer related with device performance of solar cells which controlled by deposition time. Local surface potential of CdS/CZTSe thin-films was investigated by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). From these results, we can deduce local electric properties with different thickness of buffer layer on CZTSe thin-films. Therefore, we investigated the effect of CdS buffer layer thickness on the CZTSe thin-films for decreasing device losses. From this study, we can suggest buffer layer thickness which contributes to efficiencies and device performance of CZTSe thin-film solar cells.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.125-131
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• 2016

In recent years, thick ta-C coating has attracted considerable interest owing to its existing and potential commercial importance in applications such as automobile accessories, drills, and gears. The thickness of the ta-C coating is an important parameter in these applications. However, the biggest problems are achieving efficient coating and uniformity over a large area with high-speed deposition. Feasibility is confirmed for the ta-C coating thickness of up to 9.0 µm (coating speed: 3.0 µm/h, fixed substrate) using a single FCVA cathode. The thickness was determined using multiple coating cycles that were controlled using substrate temperature and residual stresses. In the present research, we have designed a coating system using FCVA plasma and produced enhanced thick ta-C coating. The system uses a specialized magnetic field configuration with stabilized DC arc plasma discharge during deposition. To achieve quality that is acceptable for use in automobile accessories, the magnetic field, T-type filters, and 10 pieces of a multi-cathode are used to demonstrate the deposition of the thick ta-C coating. The results of coating performance indicate that uniformity is ±7.6 , deposited area is 400 mm, and the thickness of the ta-C coating is up to 5.0 µm (coating speed: 0.3 µm/h, revolution and rotation). The hardness of the coating ranges from 30 to 59 GPa, and the adhesion strength level (HF1) ranges from 20 to 60 N, depending on the ta-C coating.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.54-59
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• 2015

Glancing angle deposition (GLAD) is a powerful technique to control the morphology and microstructure of thin film prepared by physical vapor deposition. Chromium (Cr) thin films were deposited on a polymer substrate by a sputtering technique using GLAD. The change in thickness and Vickers microhardness for the samples was observed with a change in the glancing angle. The adhesion properties of the critical load (Lc) by a scratch tester for the samples were also measured with varying the glancing angle. The critical load, thickness and Vickers microhardness for the samples decreased with an increase in the glancing angle. However, the thickness of the Cr thin film prepared at a $90^{\circ}$ glancing angle showed a relatively large value of 50 % compared to that of the sample prepared at $0^{\circ}$. The results of X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the effect of GLAD on the microstructure of samples prepared by sputter technique was not as remarkable as the samples prepared by evaporation technique. The relatively small change in thickness and microstructure of the Cr thin film is due to the superior step-coverage properties of the sputter technique.