• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.102-105
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• 2011

This work describes the characteristics of zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films formed on a polycrystalline (poly) 3C-SiC buffer layer using a sol-gel process. The deposited ZnO films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. ZnO thin films grown on the poly 3C-SiC buffer layer had a nanoparticle structure and porous film. The effects of post-annealing on ZnO film were also studied. The PL spectra at room temperature confirmed the crystal quality and optical properties of ZnO thin films formed on the 3C-SiC buffer layer were improved due to close lattice mismatch in the ZnO/3C-SiC interface.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 1996.05a
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• pp.90-93
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• 1996

The conduction mechanisms of the off-current in low temperature ($\leq$600$^{\circ}C$) processed polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors (LTP poly-Si TFT's) has been systematically studied. Especially, the temperature and bias dependence of the off-current between unpassivated and passivated poly-Si TFT's was investigated and compared. The off-current of unpassivated poly-Si TFT's is due to a resistive current at low gate and drain voltage, thermal emission current at high gate, low drain voltage, and field enhanced thermal emission current in the depletion region near the drain at high gate and drain voltage. After hydrogenation, it was observed that the off-currents were remarkably reduced by plasma-hydrogenation. It was also observed that the off-currents of the passivated poly-Si TFT's are more critically dependent on temperature rather than electric field.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.07a
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• pp.297-300
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• 2005

The characteristics of polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors (poly-Si TFTs) fabricated using sputter deposited amorphous silicon (a-Si) precursor films are investigated. The a-Si films were deposited on flexible polymer substrates using argon-helium mixture gases to minimize the argon incorporation into the film. The precursor films were then laser annealed by using a XeCl excimer laser and a four-mask-processed poly-Si TFT was fabricated with fully self-aligned top gate structure. The fabricated pMOS TFT showed field-effect mobility of $32.4cm^2/V{\cdot}s$ and on/off ratio of $10^6$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.346-347
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• 2007

Aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films were deposited on Polycrystalline (poly) 3C-SiC buffer layers using pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering. Characteristics of AlN films were investigated experimentally by means of FE-SEM, X-ray diffraction, and FT-IR, respectively. As a result, highly (002) oriented AlN thin films with almost free residual stress were achieved using 3C-SiC buffer layers. Therefore, AlN thin films grown on 3C-SiC buffer layers can be used for various piezoelectric fields and M/NEMS applications.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.430-431
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• 2006

This letter reports the fabrication of polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors (poly-Si TFT) on flexible plastic substrates using amorphous silicon (a-Si) precursor films by sputter deposition. The a-Si films were deposited with mixture gas of argon and helium to minimize the argon incorporation into the film. The precursor films were then laser crystallized using XeCl excimer laser irradiation and a four-mask-processed poly-Si TFTs were fabricated with fully self-aligned top gate structure.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.101-104
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• 2018

An electric field was applied to a Mo conductive layer in the sandwiched structure of $glass/SiO_2/Mo/SiO_2/a-Si$ to induce Joule heating in order to generate the intense heat needed to carry out the crystallization of amorphous silicon. Polycrystalline silicon was produced via Joule heating through a solid state transformation. Blanket crystallization was accomplished within the range of millisecond, thus demonstrating the possibility of a new crystallization route for amorphous silicon films. The grain size of JIC poly-Si can be varied from few tens of nanometers to the one having the larger grain size exceeding that of excimer laser crystallized (ELC) poly-Si according to transmission electron microscopy. We report here the blanket crystallization of amorphous silicon films using the $2^{nd}$ generation glass substrate.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.326-332
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• 2023

The high cost of Si-based solar cells remains a substantial challenge to their widespread adoption. To address this issue, it is essential to reduce the production cost of solar-grade Si, which is used as raw material. One approach to achieve this is Si electrodeposition in molten salts containing Si sources, such as SiO₂. In this study, we present the pulse electrodeposition of Si in molten CaCl₂ containing SiO₂ nanoparticles. Theoretically, SiO₂ nanoparticles with a diameter of less than 20 nm in molten CaCl₂ at 850℃ have a comparable diffusion coefficient with that of ions in aqueous solutions at room temperature. However, we observed a slower-than-expected diffusion of the SiO₂ nanoparticles, probably because of their tendency to aggregate in the molten CaCl₂. This led to the formation of a non-uniform Si film with low current efficiency during direct current electrodeposition. We overcome this issue using pulse electrodeposition, which enabled the facile supplementation of SiO₂ nanoparticles to the substrate. This approach produced a uniform and thick electrodeposited Si film. Our results demonstrate an efficient method for Si electrodeposition in molten CaCl₂ containing SiO₂ nanoparticles, which can contribute to a reduction in production cost of solar-grade Si.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.561-566
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• 2005

Polycrystalline silicon films were deposited using hot wire CVD (HWCVD). The deposition of silicon thin films was approached by the theory of charged clusters (TCC). The TCC states that thin films grow by self-assembly of charged clusters or nanoparticles that have nucleated in the gas phase during the normal thin film process. Negatively charged clusters of a few nanometer in size were captured on a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grid and observed by TEM. The negatively charged clusters are believed to have been generated by ion-induced nucleation on negative ions, which are produced by negative surface ionization on a tungsten hot wire. The electric current on the substrate carried by the negatively charged clusters during deposition was measured to be approximately $-2{\mu}A/cm^2$. Silicon thin films were deposited at different $SiH_4$ and $H_2$ gas mixtures and filament temperatures. The crystalline volume fraction, grain size and the growth rate of the films were measured by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The deposit ion behavior of the si1icon thin films was related to properties of the charged clusters, which were in turn controlled by the process conditions. In order to verify the effect of the charged clusters on the growth behavior, three different electric biases of -200 V, 0 V and +25 V were applied to the substrate during the process, The deposition rate at an applied bias of +25 V was greater than that at 0 V and -200 V, which means that the si1icon film deposition was the result of the deposit ion of charged clusters generated in the gas phase. The working pressures had a large effect on the growth rate dependency on the bias appled to the substrate, which indicates that pressure affects the charging ratio of neutral to negatively charged clusters. These results suggest that polycrystalline silicon thin films with high crystalline volume fraction and large grain size can be produced by control1ing the behavior of the charged clusters generated in the gas phase of a normal HWCVD reactor.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 1992.05b
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• pp.144-145
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• 1992

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.08a
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• pp.323-327
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• 2006

We present the most recent experimental results on Thin-beam Directional X'tallization (TDX), a rapid excimer-laser-based crystallization method for creating extremely high-quality large-grained polycrystalline silicon films on glass substrates. We will present experimental data obtained with our prototype Gen 2 tool, and discuss the ability to produce different types of poly-Si material.