• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.81-84
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• 2010

Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films were prepared by an Ar:$H_2$ gas radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering system with a AZO ($2\;wt{\cdot}%\;Al_2O_3$) ceramic target at the low temperature of $100^{\circ}C$ and annealed in hydrogen ambient at the temperature of $300^{\circ}C$. To investigate the influence of the $H_2$ flow ratio on the properties of the AZO films, the $H_2$ flow ratio was changed from 0.5% to 2%. As a result, the AZO films, deposited with a 1% $H_2$ addition, showed a resistivity of $11.7\;{\times}\;10^{-4}\;{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$. When the AZO films were annealed at $300^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour in a hydrogen atmosphere, the resistivity decreased from $11.7\;{\times}\;10^{-4}\;{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ to $5.63\;{\times}\;10^{-4}\;{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$. The lowest resistivity of $5.63\;{\times}\;10^{-4}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ was obtained by adding 1% hydrogen gas to the deposition and annealing process. The X-ray diffraction patterns of all the films showed a preferable growth orientation in the (002) plane. The spectrophotometer measurements showed that the transmittance of 85% was obtained by the film deposited with the $H_2$ flow ratio of 1% at 940 nm for GaAs/GaAlAs LEDs.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.9 no.11
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• pp.1123-1128
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• 1999

To investigate the effect of Sn on the recrystallization of Zr-based alloys. Zr-xSn (x=0.5, 0.8, 1.5, 2.0wt.%) alloys were manufactured to be the sheets through the defined manufacturing procedure. The specimens were annealed at $300^{\circ}C$ to $800^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour. The hardness, microstructure and precipitate of the alloys with the annealing temperature were investigated by using micro- knoop hardness tester, optical microscope(O/M) and transmission electron microscope(TEM), respectively. The cold-worked Zr-xSn alloys showed the typical behavior of the recovery. recrystallization, and grain growth. The recrystallization of Zr-xSn alloys occurred between $500^{\circ}C$ and $700^{\circ}C$. As the Sn content increased. the recrystallization temperature of the cold-worked alloys increased but their grain sizes after recrystallization decreased. It is suggested that the recrystallization of the cold- worked Zr alloys be occurred by the subgrain coalescence and growth mechanism.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.32-38
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• 2015

CIGS solar cell consisted of various films. In this research, we investigated electrode materials in $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ (CIGS) cells, including Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al), intrinsic ZnO (i-ZnO), and Al films. The sputtered ZnO:Al film with a sputtering power at 200W showed the lowest series resistance and highest cell efficiency. The electrical resistivity of the 200-W sputtered ZnO:Al film was $5.2{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ by the rapid thermal annealing at $200^{\circ}C$ for 1 min. The electrical resistivity of i-ZnO was not measurable due to its high resistance. But the optical transmittance was highest with less oxygen supply and high efficiency cell was achieved with $O_2/(Ar+O_2)$ ratio was 1% due to the increase of short-circuit current. No significant change in the cell performance by inserting a Ni layer between Al and ZnO:Al films was observed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2005.07a
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• pp.207-210
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• 2005

In order to investigate the influence of the homo buffer layer on the microstructure of the ZnO thin film, undoped ZnO buffer layer were deposited on sapphire (0001) substrates by ultra high vaccum pulsed laser deposition (UHV-PLD) and molecular beam eiptaxy (MBE). After high temperature annealing at $600^{\circ}C$ for 30min, undoped ZnO buffer layer was deposited with various oxygen pressure (35~350mtorr). On the grown layer of undoped ZnO, Arsenic-doped(l, 3wt%) ZnO layers were deposited by UHV-PLD. The optical property of the ZnO was analyzed by the photoluminescence (PL) measurement. From $\Theta-2\Theta$ XRD analysis, all the films showed strong (0002) diffraction peak, and this indicates that the grains grew uniformly with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate surface. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) revealed that microstructures of the ZnO were varied with oxygen pressure, arsenic doping level, and the deposition method of undoped ZnO buffer layers. The films became denser and smoother in the cases of introducing MBE-buffer layer and lower oxygen pressure during As-doped ZnO deposition. Higher As-doping concentration enhanced the columnar-character of the films.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.371-371
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• 2007

In this study, liquid crystal (LC) aligning capabilities for vertical alignment on the $CeO_x$ thin film by thermal evaporation method were investigated. Also, the control of pretilt angles and thermal stabilities of the NLC treated on $CeO_x$ thin film were investgated. The uniform LC alignment on the $CeO_x$ thin film surfaces and good thermal stabilities with thermal evaporation can be achieved. It is considerated that the LC alignment on the $CeO_x$ thin film by thermal evaporation is attributed to elastic interaction between LC molecules and micro-grooves at the $CeO_x$ thin film surface created by evaporation. In addition, it can be achieved the good electro-optical (EO) properties of the VA-LCD on $CeO_x$ thin film layer with oblique thermal evaporation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.145-145
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• 2010

In this paper, we report that the effects of hydrogen doping on the electrical and optical properties of typical transparent conducting oxide films such as ZnO and $SnO_2$ prepared by magnetron sputtering. Recently, density functional theory (DFT) calculations have shown strong evidence that hydrogen acts as a source of n-type conductivity in ZnO. In this work, the beneficial effect of hydrogen incorporation on Ga-doped ZnO thin films was demonstrated. It was found that hydrogen doping results a noticeable improvement of the conductivity mainly due to the increases in carrier concentration. Extent of the improvement was found to be quite dependent on the deposition temperature. A low resistivity of $4.0{\times}10^{-4}\;{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ was obtained for the film grown at $160^{\circ}C$ with $H_2$ 10% in sputtering gas. However, the beneficial effect of hydrogen doping was not observed for the films deposited at $270^{\circ}C$. Variations of the electrical transport properties upon vacuum annealing showed that the difference is attributed to the thermal stability of interstitial hydrogen atoms in the films. Theoretical calculations also suggested that hydrogen forms a shallow-donor state in $SnO_2$, even though no experimental determination has yet been performed. We prepared undoped $SnO_2$ thin films by RF magnetron sputtering under various hydrogen contents in sputtering ambient and then exposed them to H-plasma. Our results clearly showed that the hydrogen incorporation in $SnO_2$ leads to the increase in carrier concentration. Our experimental observation supports the fact that hydrogen acting as a shallow donor seems to be a general feature of the TCOs.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.40-44
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• 2019

Tungsten trioxide ($WO_3$) is a promising candidate as a photocatalyst because of its outstanding electrical and optical properties. In this study, we prepare $WO_3$ thin films by electrodeposition and characterize the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue using these films. Depending on the voltage conditions (static and pulse), compact and porous $WO_3$ films are fabricated on a transparent ITO/glass substrate. The morphology and crystal structure of electrodeposited $WO_3$ thin films are investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. An application of static voltage during electrodeposition yields a compact layer of $WO_3$, whereas a highly porous morphology with nanoflakes is produced by a pulse voltage process. Compared to the compact film, the porous $WO_3$ thin film shows better photocatalytic activities. Furthermore, a much higher reaction rate of degradation of methylene blue can be achieved after post-annealing of $WO_3$ thin films.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.12
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• pp.811-818
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• 2009

In order to meet increasingly complex and rigorous technical specifications, extensive effort has been devoted to fabricate clad materials with multi-layered metal plates. In this study, novel stainless steel/aluminum/copper (STS/Al/Cu) three-ply clad materials were fabricated by a hot rolling process for cookware applications. The effect of the testing temperature on the mechanical properties of the clad materials and on each component metal was investigated during the tensile tests. The interface properties of the clad materials were also examined by optical microscopy (OM) and an electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA). The best mechanical and interfacial properties for a warm working process were found in a sample annealed at a temperature of $300^{\circ}C$. For the sample annealed at $400^{\circ}C$, the results of the tensile test indicated that interface delamination occurred only in the region of the Al/Cu interfaces. This was due to the formation of the thick and brittle intermetallic compound of $Al_2Cu$ in the Al/Cu interface. In contrast, no interface delamination was observed in the STS/Al interface, most likely due to its strong bond strength.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.44-49
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• 2009

Indium tin oxide(ITO) thin films were deposited on the glass substrates by radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method. The influence of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) treatment on the optical and electrical properties of the films were investigated for the purpose of fabricating plasma display signboard. Structural properties, surface roughness, sheet resistance and transmittance of the ITO film were analysed by using x-ray diffraction method, atomic force microscopy (AFM), four point prove, and ultraviolet-visible spectrometer, respectively. It was found that the RTA treatment increased the transmittance and decreased the resistivity of the ITO film, respectively. Furthermore, we successfully demonstrated the direct-current plasma signboard by using ITO electrode and phosphors.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2000.02a
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• pp.163-163
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• 2000

In this research, we used the ion irradiation technique which has an advantae in improving intentionally the properties of surface and interface in a non-equilibrium, instead of the conventional annealing method which has been known to improve the material properties in the equilibrium stat. Cu/Co multilayered films were prepared on SiN4/SiO2/Si substrates by the electron-beam evaporation for the Co layers and the thermal evaporation for the Cu layers in a high vacuum. The ion irradiation with a 80keV Ar+ was carried out at various ion doses in a high vacuum. Hysteresis loops of the films were investigated by magneto-optical polar Kerr spectroscopy at various experimental conditions. The change of atomic structure of the films before and after the ion irradiation was studied by glancing angle x-ray diffraction, and the intermixing between Co and Cu sublayers was confirmed by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. The surface roughness and magneto-resistance were measured by atomic force microscopy and with a four-point probe system, respectively. During the magneto-resistance measurement, we changed temperature and the direction of magnetization. From the results of experiments, we found that the change at the interfaces of the Cu/Co multilayered film induced by ion irradiation cause the change of magnetic properties. According to the change in hysteresis loop, the surface inplane component of magnetic easy axis was isotropic before the ion irradiation, but became anisotropic upon irradiation. It was confirmed that this change influences the axial behavior of magneto-resistance. Especially, the magneto-resistance varied in accordance with an external magnetic field and the direction of current, which means that magneto-resistance also shows the uniaxial behavior.