• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.26 no.B
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• pp.173-181
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• 2006

We analyzed systematically particle growth in the pulsed $SiH_4$ plasmas by a numerical method and investigated the effects of pulse modulations (pulse frequencies, duty ratios) on the particle growth. We considered effects of particle charging on the particle growth by coagulation during plasma-on. During plasma-on ($t_{on}$), the particle size distribution in plasma reactor becomes bimodal (small sized and large sized particles groups). During plasma-off ($t_{off}$), there is a single mode of large sized particles which is widely dispersed in the particle size distribution. During plasma on, the large sized particles grows more quickly by fast coagulation between small and large sized particles than during plasma-off. As the pulse frequency decreases, or as the duty ratio increases, $t_{on}$ increases and the large sized particles grow faster. On the basis of these results, the pulsed plasma process can be a good method to suppress efficiently the generation and growth of particles in $SiH_4$ PCVD process. This systematical analysis can be applied to design a pulsed plasma process for the preparation of high quality thin films.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.25 no.A
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• pp.141-149
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• 2005

We investigated numerically the evolutions of several chemical species which are important for film growth and particle generation in the pulsed $SiH_4$ plasmas. During the plasma-on, the $SiH_x$ concentration increases with time mainly by the generation reaction from $SiH_4$, but, during the plasma-off, decreases because of the hydrogen adsorption reaction. During the plasma-on, the concentrations of negative ions increase with time by the polymerization reactions of negative ions and those become almost zero in the sheath regions because of the electrostatic repulsion. During the plasma-off, the concentrations of negative ions decrease with time by the neutralization reactions with positive ions and some negative ions can diffuse toward the sheath regions because there is no electric field inside the reactor. The polymerized negative ions of higher mass can be reduced successfully by using the pulsed plasma process.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.286-293
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• 1999

This study was to analyse the relationship between process parameters of the sintered composite and plasma nitriding properties with pulsed DC plasma. Fe-40at%$SiC_p$ composites of full density were fabricated by hot pressing at 1100~$1150^{\circ}C$. Sintered Fe-40at%Al and Fe-40at%$Al/SiC_p$ alloys were nitrided under pulsed DC plasma. Excellent surface hardness in the FeAl alloys could be obtained by plasma nitriding. ($H_v$ :100gf, diffusion layer : 1100~$1450kg/mm^2$, matrix : 330~$360kg/mm^2$) The wear resistance of $FeAl/SiC_p$ composites were improved about by 4~6times than FeAl and nitrided $FeAl/SiC_p$ were improved about 2 times than $FeAl/SiC_p$ matrix.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.204-205
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• 2011

In thin film silicon solar cells, p-i-n structure is adopted instead of p/n junction structure as in wafer-based Si solar cells. PECVD is a most widely used thin film deposition process for a-Si:H or ${\mu}c$-Si:H solar cells. For best performance of thin film silicon solar cell, the dopant profiles at p/i and i/n interfaces need to be as sharp as possible. The sharpness of dopant profiles can easily achieved when using multi-chamber PECVD equipment, in which each layer is deposited in separate chamber. However, in a single-chamber PECVD system, doped and intrinsic layers are deposited in one plasma chamber, which inevitably impedes sharp dopant profiles at the interfaces due to the contamination from previous deposition process. The cross-contamination between layers is a serious drawback of a single-chamber PECVD system in spite of the advantage of lower initial investment cost for the equipment. In order to resolve the cross-contamination problem in single-chamber PECVD systems, flushing method of the chamber with NH3 gas or water vapor after doped layer deposition process has been used. In this study, a new plasma process to solve the cross-contamination problem in a single-chamber PECVD system was suggested. A single-chamber VHF-PECVD system was used for superstrate type p-i-n a-Si:H solar cell manufacturing on Asahi-type U FTO glass. A 80 MHz and 20 watts of pulsed RF power was applied to the parallel plate RF cathode at the frequency of 10 kHz and 80% duty ratio. A mixture gas of Ar, H2 and SiH4 was used for i-layer deposition and the deposition pressure was 0.4 Torr. For p and n layer deposition, B2H6 and PH3 was used as doping gas, respectively. The deposition temperature was $250^{\circ}C$ and the total p-i-n layer thickness was about $3500{\AA}$. In order to remove the deposited B inside of the vacuum chamber during p-layer deposition, a high pulsed RF power of about 80 W was applied right after p-layer deposition without SiH4 gas, which is followed by i-layer and n-layer deposition. Finally, Ag was deposited as top electrode. The best initial solar cell efficiency of 9.5 % for test cell area of 0.2 $cm^2$ could be achieved by applying the in-situ plasma cleaning method. The dependence on RF power and treatment time was investigated along with the SIMS analysis of the p-i interface for boron profiles.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.230-230
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• 2013

In amorphous or microcrystalline thin-film silicon solar cells, p-i-n structure is used instead of p/n junction structure as in wafer-based Si solar cells. Hence, these p-i-n structured solar cells inevitably consist of many interfaces and the cell efficiency critically depends on the effective control of these interfaces. In this study, in-situ plasma treatment process of the interfaces was developed to improve the efficiency of a-Si:H solar cell. The p-i-n cell was deposited using a single-chamber VHF-PECVD system, which was driven by a pulsed-RF generator at 80 MHz. In order to solve the cross-contamination problem of p-i layer, high RF power was applied without supplying SiH4 gas after p-layer deposition, which effectively cleaned B contamination inside chamber wall from p-layer deposition. In addition to the p-i interface control, various interface control techniques such as thin layer of TiO2 deposition to prevent H2 plasma reduction of FTO layer, multiple applications of thin i-layer deposition and H2 plasma treatment, H2 plasma treatment of i-layer prior to n-layer deposition, etc. were developed. In order to reduce the reflection at the air-glass interface, anti-reflective SiO2 coating was also adopted. The initial solar cell efficiency over 11% could be achieved for test cell area of 0.2 $cm^2$.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.159-164
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• 2010

Surface roughness of deposited or etched film strongly depends on ion bombardment. Relationships between ion bombardment variables and surface roughness are too complicated to model analytically. To overcome this, an empirical neural network model was constructed and applied to a deposition process of silicon nitride (SiN) films. The films were deposited by using a pulsed plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system in $SiH_4$-$NH_4$ plasma. Radio frequency source power and duty ratio were varied in the range of 200-800 W and 40-100%. A total of 20 experiments were conducted. A non-invasive ion energy analyzer was used to collect ion energy distribution. The diagnostic variables examined include high (or) low ion energy and high (or low) ion energy flux. Mean surface roughness was measured by using atomic force microscopy. A neural network model relating the diagnostic variables to the surface roughness was constructed and its prediction performance was optimized by using a genetic algorithm. The optimized model yielded an improved performance of about 58% over statistical regression model. The model revealed very interesting features useful for optimization of surface roughness. This includes a reduction in surface roughness either by an increase in ion energy flux at lower ion energy or by an increase in higher ion energy at lower ion energy flux.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 1999.07a
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• pp.211-211
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• 1999

Titanium nitride (TiN) thin films have useful properties including high hardness, good electrical conductivity, high melting point, and chemical inertness. The applications have included wear-resistant hard coatings on machine tools and bearings, decorative coating making use of the golden color, thermal control coatings for widows, and erosion resistant coatings for spacecraft plasma probes. For all these applications as feature sizes shrink and aspect ratios grow, the issue of good step coverage becomes increasingly important. It is therefore essential to manufacture conformal coatings of TiN. The growth of TiN thin films by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is of great interest for achieving conformal deposition. The most widely used precursor for TiN is TiCl4 and NH3. However, chlorine impurity in the as-grown films and relatively high deposition temperature (>$600^{\circ}C$) are considered major drawbacks from actual device fabrication. To overcome these problems, recently, MOCVD processes including plasma assisted have been suggested. In this study, therefore, we have doposited Ti(C, N) thin films on Si(100) and D2 steel substrates in the temperature range of 150-30$0^{\circ}C$ using tetrakis diethylamido titanium (TDEAT) and titanium isopropoxide (TIP) by pulsed DC plamsa enhanced metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (PEMOCVD) method. Polycrystalline Ti(C, N) thin films were successfully grown on either D2 steel or Si(100) surfaces at temperature as low as 15$0^{\circ}C$. Compositions of the as-grown films were determined with XPS and RBS. From XPS analysis, thin films of Ti(C, N) with low oxygen concentration were obtained. RBS data were also confirmed the changes of stoichiometry and microhardness of our films. Radical formation and ionization behaviors in plasma are analyzed by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) at various pulsed bias and gases conditions. H2 and He+H2 gases are used as carrier gases to compare plasma parameter and the effect of N2 and NH3 gases as reactive gas is also evaluated in reduction of C content of the films. In this study, we fond that He and H2 mixture gas is very effective in enhancing ionization of radicals, especially N resulting is high hardness. The higher hardness of film is obtained to be ca. 1700 HK 0.01 but it depends on gas species and bias voltage. The proper process is evident for H and N2 gas atmosphere and bias voltage of 600V. However, NH3 gas highly reduces formation of CN radical, thereby decreasing C content of Ti(C, N) thin films in a great deal. Compared to PVD TiN films, the Ti(C, N) film grown by PEMOCVD has very good conformability; the step coverage exceeds 85% with an aspect ratio of more than 3.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2016.11a
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• pp.199-199
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• 2016

Commercially pure titanium (cp-Ti) and Ti alloys (typically Ti-6Al-4V) display excellent corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. Although the chemical composition and topography are considered important, the mechanical properties of the material and the loading conditions in the host have, conventionally. Ti and its alloys are not bioactive. Therefore, they do not chemically bond to the bone, whereas they physically bond with bone tissue. The electrochemical deposition process provides an effective surface for biocompatibility because large surface area can be served to cell proliferation. Electrochemical deposition method is an attractive technique for the deposition of hydroxyapatite (HAp). However, the adhesions of these coatings to the Ti surface needs to be improved for clinical used. Plasma electrolyte oxidation (PEO) enables control in the chemical com position, porous structure, and thickness of the $TiO_2$ layer on Ti surface. In addition, previous studies h ave concluded that the presence of $Ca^{+2}$ and ${PO_4}^{3-}$ ion coating on porous $TiO_2$ surface induced adhesion strength between HAp and Ti surface during electrochemical deposition. Silicon (Si) in particular has been found to be essential for normal bone and cartilage growth and development. Zinc (Zn) plays very important roles in bone formation and immune system regulation, and is also the most abundant trace element in bone. The objective of this work was to study electrochemical characteristcs of Zn and Si coating on Ti-6Al-4V by PEO treatment. The coating process involves two steps: 1) formation of porous $TiO_2$ on Ti-6Al-4V at high potential. A pulsed DC power supply was employed. 2) Electrochemical tests were carried out using potentiodynamic and AC impedance methoeds. The morphology, the chemical composition, and the micro-structure an alysis of the sample were examined using FE-SEM, EDS, and XRD. The enhancements of the HAp forming ability arise from $Si/Zn-TiO_2$ surface, which has formed the reduction of the Si/Zn ions. The promising results successfully demonstrate the immense potential of $Si/Zn-TiO_2$ coatings in dental and biomaterials applications.