• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2019

The $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ (CIGS) thin film obtained by two-step process (metal deposition and Se annealing) has a rough surface morphology and many voids at the CIGS/Mo interface. To solve the problem a precursor that contains Se was employer by depositing a (In,Se)/(Cu,Ga) stacked layer. We devised a two-step annealing (vacuum pre-annealing and Se annealing) for the precursor because direct annealing of the precursor in Se environment resulted in the small grains with unwanted demarcation between stacked layers. After vacuum pre-annealing up to $500^{\circ}C$ the CIGS film consisted of CIGS phase and secondary phases including $In_4Se_3$, InSe, and $Cu_9(In,Ga)_4$. The secondary phases were completely converted to CIGS phase by a subsequent Se annealing. A void-free CIGS/Mo interface was obtained by the two-step annealing process. Especially, the CIGS film prepared by vacuum annealing $450^{\circ}C$ and subsequent Se annealing $550^{\circ}C$ showed a densely-packed grains with smooth surface, well-aligned bamboo grains on the top of the film, little voids in the film, and also little voids at the CIGS/Mo interface. The smooth surface enhanced the cell performance due to the increase of shunt resistance.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 2022

We developed a technology that can measure the hydrogen uptake and diffusivity of rubber materials by using the volumetric analysis method and diffusivity analysis program through the measurement of the water level in the graduated cylinder. In this method, hydrogen gas is charged at a certain pressure for a certain period of time for a rubber material exposed to a high-pressure hydrogen gas environment, and then the pressure is reduced to measure the change in the water level in the graduated cylinder in real time, and based on the measured value, it is a technology that can evaluate hydrogen uptake and diffusivity using diffusivity analysis program. Using this method, the hydrogen uptake and diffusivity of the NBR material were measured with respect to the change in the type and weight ratio of the filler used to improve the physical properties of the rubber material. In addition, uncertainty analysis was performed on the diffusivity measurement method.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.1140-1151
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• 2023

Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated (FCM) fuel is emerging advanced fuel material for the future nuclear reactors. The fuel pellet in the FCM fuel is composed of matrix and a large number of TRistructural-ISOtopic (TRISO) fuel particles which are randomly dispersed in the SiC matrix. The minimum layer thickness in a TRISO fuel particle is on the order of 10^-5 m, and the length of the FCM pellet is on the order of 10^-2 m. Hence, the heat transfer in the FCM pellet is a multi-scale phenomenon. In this study, three multi-scale heat conduction models including the Multi-region Layered (ML) model, Multi-region Non-layered (MN) model and Homogeneous model for FCM pellet were constructed. In the ML model, the random distributed TRISO fuel particles and coating layers are completely built. While the TRISO fuel particles with coating layers are homogenized in the MN model and the whole fuel pellet is taken as the homogenous material in the Homogeneous model. Taking the results by the ML model as the benchmark, the abilities of the MN model and Homogenous model to predict the maximum and average temperature were discussed. It was found that the MN model and the Homogenous model greatly underestimate the temperature of TRISO fuel particles. The reason is mainly that the conventional equivalent thermal conductivity (ETC) models do not take the internal heat source into account and are not suitable for the TRISO fuel particle. Then the improved ETCs considering internal heat source were derived. With the improved ETCs, the MN model is able to capture the peak temperature as well as the average temperature at a wide range of the linear powers (165 W/cm~ 415 W/cm) and the packing fractions (20%-50%). With the improved ETCs, the Homogenous model is better to predict the average temperature at different linear powers and packing fractions, and able to predict the peak temperature at high packing fractions (45%-50%).

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.184-196
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• 2023

Background: Radiation protection is crucial in various fields due to the harmful effects of radiation. Shielding is used to reduce radiation exposure, but gamma radiation poses challenges due to its high energy and penetration capabilities. Materials and Methods: This work investigates the radiation shielding properties of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) samples containing different weight fraction of tungsten carbide (WC), tungsten trioxide (WO₃), and tungsten disulfide (WS₂). Parameters such as the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), half-value layer (HVL), mean free path (MFP), effective atomic number (Z_eff), and macroscopic effective removal cross-section for fast neutrons (Σ_R) were calculated using the Phy-X/PSD software. EpiXS simulations were conducted for MAC validation. Results and Discussion: Increasing the weight fraction of the additives resulted in higher MAC values, indicating improved radiation shielding. PVDF-xWC showed the highest percentage increase in MAC values. MFP results indicated that PVDF-0.20WC has the lowest values, suggesting superior shielding properties compared to PVDF-0.20WO₃ and PVDF-0.20WS₂. PVDF-0.20WC also exhibited the highest Z_eff values, while PVDF-0.20WS₂ showed a slightly higher increase in Z_eff at energies of 0.662 and 1.333 MeV. PVDF-0.20WC has demonstrated the highest Σ_R value, indicating effective shielding against fast neutrons, while PVDF-0.20WS₂ had the lowest Σ_R value. The Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport version 5 (MCNP5) simulations showed that PVDF-xWC attenuates gamma radiation more than pure PVDF, significantly decreasing the dose equivalent rate. Conclusion: Overall, this research provides insights into the radiation shielding properties of PVDF mixtures, with PVDF-xWC showing the most promising results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.220-220
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• 2013

Surface-normal transmission electro-absorption modulator (EAM) are attractive for high-definition (HD) three-dimensional (3D) imaging application due to its features such as small system volume and simple epitaxial structure [1,2]. However, EAM in order to be used for HD 3D imaging system requires uniform modulation performance over large area. To achieve highly uniform modulation performance of EAM at the operating wavelength of 850 nm, it is extremely important to remove the GaAs substrate over large area since GaAs material has high absorption coefficient below 870 nm which corresponds to band-edge energy of GaAs (1.424 eV). In this study, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a transmission EAM in which highly selective backside etching methods which include lapping, dry etching and wet etching is carried out to remove the GaAs substrate for achieving highly uniform modulation performance. First, lapping process on GaAs substrate was carried out for different lapping speeds (5 rpm, 7 rpm, 10 rpm) and the thickness was measured over different areas of surface. For a lapping speed of 5 rpm, a highly uniform surface over a large area ($2{\times}1\;mm^2$) was obtained. Second, optimization of inductive coupled plasma-reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) was carried out to achieve anisotropy and high etch rate. The dry etching carried out using a gas mixture of SiCl4 and Ar, each having a flow rate of 10 sccm and 40 sccm, respectively with an RF power of 50 W, ICP power of 400 W and chamber pressure of 2 mTorr was the optimum etching condition. Last, the rest of GaAs substrate was successfully removed by highly selective backside wet etching with pH adjusted solution of citric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Citric acid/hydrogen peroxide etching solution having a volume ratio of 5:1 was the best etching condition which provides not only high selectivity of 235:1 between GaAs and AlAs but also good etching profile [3]. The fabricated transmission EAM array have an amplitude modulation of more than 50% at the bias voltage of -9 V and maintains high uniformity of >90% over large area ($2{\times}1\;mm^2$). These results show that the fabricated transmission EAM with substrate removed is an excellent candidate to be used as an optical shutter for HD 3D imaging application.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.19.2-19.2
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• 2011

The $(Sr_{0.75},\;La_{0.25})TiO_3$ (SLTO) ultra-thin films with various thicknesses have been grown on Ti-O terminated $SrTiO_3$(100) substrate using Laser-Molecular Beam Epitaxy (Laser MBE). By monitoring the in-situ specular spot intensity oscillation of reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), we controlled the layer-by-layer film growth. The film structure and topography were verified by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and high resolution thin film x-ray diffraction by the synchrotron x-ray radiation. We have also investigated the electronic band structure using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The ultra thin SLTO film exhibits thickness driven metal-insulator transition around 8 unit cell thickness when the film thickness progressively reduced to 2 unit cell. The SLTO thin films with an insulating character showed band splitting in Ti $L_3-L_2$ edge XAS spectrum which is attributed to Ti 3d band splitting. This narrow d band splitting could drive the metal-insulator transition along with Anderson Localization. In optical conductivity, we have found the spectral weight transfer from coherent part to incoherent part when the film thickness was reduced. This result indicates the possibility of enhanced electron correlation in ultra thin films.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.488-495
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• 2021

Solid state grain growth (SSCG) is a method of growing large single crystals from seed single crystals by abnormal grain growth in a small-grained matrix. During grain growth, pores are often trapped in the matrix and remain in single crystals. Aerosol deposition (AD) is a method of manufacturing films with almost full density from nano grains by causing high energy collision between substrates and ceramic powders. AD and SSCG are used to grow single crystals with few pores. BaTiO₃ films are coated on (100) SrTiO₃ seeds by AD. To generate grain growth, BaTiO₃ films are heated to 1,300 ℃ and held for 10 h, and entire films are grown as single crystals. The condition of grain growth driving force is ∆G_max < ∆G_c ≤ ∆G_seed. On the other hand, the condition of grain growth driving force in BaTiO₃ AD films heat-treated at 1,100 and 1,200 ℃ is ∆G_c < ∆G_max, and single crystals are not grown.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.268-279
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• 2018

The ALCYONE multidimensional fuel performance code codeveloped by the CEA, EDF, and AREVA NP within the PLEIADES software environment models the behavior of fuel rods during irradiation in commercial pressurized water reactors (PWRs), power ramps in experimental reactors, or accidental conditions such as loss of coolant accidents or reactivity-initiated accidents (RIAs). As regards the latter case of transient in particular, ALCYONE is intended to predictively simulate the response of a fuel rod by taking account of mechanisms in a way that models the physics as closely as possible, encompassing all possible stages of the transient as well as various fuel/cladding material types and irradiation conditions of interest. On the way to complying with these objectives, ALCYONE development and validation shall include tests on $PWR-UO_2$ fuel rods with advanced claddings such as M5(R) under "low pressure-low temperature" or "high pressure-high temperature" water coolant conditions. This article first presents ALCYONE V1.4 RIA-related features and modeling. It especially focuses on recent developments dedicated on the one hand to nonsteady water heat and mass transport and on the other hand to the modeling of grain boundary cracking-induced fission gas release and swelling. This article then compares some simulations of RIA transients performed on $UO_2$-M5(R) fuel rods in flowing sodium or stagnant water coolant conditions to the relevant experimental results gained from tests performed in either the French CABRI or the Japanese NSRR nuclear transient reactor facilities. It shows in particular to what extent ALCYONE-starting from base irradiation conditions it itself computes-is currently able to handle both the first stage of the transient, namely the pellet-cladding mechanical interaction phase, and the second stage of the transient, should a boiling crisis occur. Areas of improvement are finally discussed with a view to simulating and analyzing further tests to be performed under prototypical PWR conditions within the CABRI International Program. M5(R) is a trademark or a registered trademark of AREVA NP in the USA or other countries.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2000

For wedged photon beams, the variation of the wedge factor with field size was reported by several authors. However, until now such variation with field size had not been explained quantitatively. Therefore, the variation of the wedge factor was investigated by measuring outputs with field sizes increasing from 4 cm $\times$ 4 cm to 25 cm $\times$ 25 cm for open and wedged 6 and 10MV X-ray beams. The relative outputs for wedged fields to 10 cm $\times$ 10 cm have been obtained. The results show the Increase of the wedge factor caused by the change in fluence of high energy Photon beam with field size, up to 8.0% for KD77-6MV X-ray beam. This increase could be explained as a linear function of the irradiated wedge volume except small field size up to about 10 cm. In the cases of the narrow rectangular beam parallel to the wedge direction, the wedge factor decreases slightly with increasing field size up to about 10-15 cm due to a relatively reduced photon fluence from the change of the wedge thickness. We could explain the causes of a wedge factor variation with field size as the fluences of primary photon passed throughout the wedge, contributing to the dose at the central beam axis and that the fluences were affected by the gradient of the wedge with the change of field size. For clinical use, the formula developed to describe the wedge factor variation with field size has been corrected.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.148-154
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• 2011

The quality factors ($k_{Q,Q_0}$) were evaluated by appling the results recently studied for the effect of central electrode in TRS-398 protocol. The PTW-31010 and IBA-CC13 chambers were used in this study. The quality factors were calculated as a function of beam quality for high energy electron and photon beams and compared with data currently used in TRS-398 protocol. In the PTW-31010 chamber using aluminium electrode, appling the new central electrode collections, the quality factors were 0.4% and 0.9% higher than current TRS-398 data for high energy photon and electron beams respectively. In the IBA-CC13 chamber using C-552 electrode, there are no variations in quality factors compared to TRS-398 data currently used.