• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.505-509
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• 2016

We have investigated the characteristics of amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin-film solar cell by inserting barrier layer. The conversion efficiency of a-Si thin-film solar cells on graphite substrate shows nearly zero because of the surface roughness of the graphite substrate. To enhance the performance of solar cells, the surface morphology of the back side were modified by changing the barrier layer on graphite. The surface roughness of graphite substrate with the barrier layer grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reduced from ~2 um to ~75 nm. In this study, the combination of the barrier layer on graphite substrate is important to increase solar cell efficiency. We achieved ~ 7.8% cell efficiency for an a-Si thin-film solar cell on graphite substrate with SiNx/SiOx stack barrier layer.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.115.1-115.1
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• 2012

The Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) observes low ionization state coronal mass ejection plasma at ultraviolet wavelengths. The CME plasmas are often detected in O VI ($3{\times}10^5K$), C III ($8{\times}10^4K$), $Ly{\alpha}$, and $Ly{\beta}$. Earlier in situ observations by the Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS) on board Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) have shown mostly high ionization state plasmas in interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICME) events, which implies that most CME plasma is strongly heated during its expansion in solar corona. In this analysis, we investigate whether the low ionization state CME plasmas observed by UVCS occupy small enough fractions of the CME volume to be consistent with the small fraction of ICMEs measured by ACE that show low ionization plasma, or whether the CME must be further ionized after passing the UVCS slit. To do this, we determine the covering factors of low ionization state plasma for 10 CME events. We find that the low ionization state plasmas in CMEs observed by UVCS show small covering factors. This result shows that the high ionization state ICME plasmas observed by the ACE results from a small filling factor of cool plasma. We also find that the low ionization state plasma volumes in faster CMEs are smaller than in slower CMEs. Most slow CMEs in this analysis are associated with a prominence eruption, while the faster CMEs are associated with X-class flares.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.70.3-70.3
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• 2019

We present a method to estimate 3-component plasma velocity (Vx, Vy and Vz) at solar photosphere near solar disk center, using the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) called Space-weather HMI Active Region Patch (SHARP). In Heliocentric-Cartesian Coordinates, the component of Vz is obtained from Dopplergram while the components of Vx and Vy are derived from the relation of $B_z{\overrightarrow{u}}=B_z{\overrightarrow{{\nu}_t}}-{\nu}_z{\overrightarrow{B_t}}$ (Demoulin & Berger 2003) using a series of vector magnetograms by an optical flow technique NAVE (Nonlinear Affine Velocity Estimator). This velocity measurement method is applied to AR 12158 producing an X1.6 flare along with a coronal mass ejection. We find noticeable upflow motions at both ends of flux ropes which become a major eruption part, and strong transverse motions nearby them before the eruption. We will discuss the change of plasma motions and magnetic fields before and after the eruption.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.43.1-43.1
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• 2009

Electromagnetic radiation at the plasma frequency and its second harmonic, the so-called plasma emission, is fundamental process responsible for solar type II and III radio bursts. There have also been occasional observations of higher-harmonic plasma emissions in the solar-terrestrial environment. We will present that the simulation effort on characterizing the electron beam-generated plasma emission process at POSTECH. We have developed fully electromagnetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation code with three dimensions. We simulated harmonic plasma emission with various beam condition. Qualitative comparison with the traditional plasma frequency and second harmonic radiation theory is in good agreement. Higher harmonic emissions agree with the theory of coalescence of Langmuir and harmonic EM wave.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.23-29
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• 2013

Furnace and laser is currently the most important doping process. However furnace is typically difficult appling for selective emitters. Laser requires an expensive equipment and induces a structural damage due to high temperature using laser. This study has developed a new atmospheric pressure plasma source and research atmospheric pressure plasma doping. Atmospheric pressure plasma source injected Ar gas is applied a low frequency (a few 10 kHz) and discharged the plasma. We used P type silicon wafers of solar cell. We set the doping parameter that plasma treatment time was 6s and 30s, and the current of making the plasma is 70 mA and 120 mA. As result of experiment, prolonged plasma process time and highly plasma current occur deeper doping depth and improve sheet resistance. We investigated doping profile of phosphorus paste by SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy) and obtained the sheet resistance using generally formula. Additionally, grasped the wafer surface image with SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) to investigate surface damage of doped wafer. Therefore we confirm the possibility making the selective emitter of solar cell applied atmospheric pressure plasma doping with phosphorus paste.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.295-295
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• 2016

Recently, TCO films with low carrier concentration, high mobility and high work function are proposed beneficial as front electrode in HIT solar cell due to free-carrier absorption in NIR wavelength region and low Schottky barrier height in the front TCO/a-Si:H(p) interface. We report high transmittance and work function zirconium-doped indium tin oxide (ITO:Zr) films with various plasma (Ar/O2 and Ar) conditions. The role of (Ar/O2) plasma was to enhance the work function of the ITO:Zr films whereas the pure Ar plasma based ITO:Zr showed good electrical properties. The RF magnetron sputtered ITO:Zr films with low resistivity and high transmittance were employed as front electrode in HIT solar cells, yield the best performance of 18.15% with an open-circuit voltage of 710 eV and current density of 34.63 mA/cm2. The high work function ITO:Zr films can be used to modify the front barrier height of HIT solar cell.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2010.04a
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• pp.25.1-25.1
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• 2010

This talk outlines the current understanding of solar flares, mainly focusing on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) processes. A flare causes plasma heating, mass ejection, and particle acceleration that generates high-energy particles. The key physical processes related to a flare are: the emergence of magnetic field from the solar interior to the solar atmosphere (flux emergence), formation of current-concentrated areas (current sheets) in the corona, and magnetic reconnection proceeding in current sheets that causes shock heating, mass ejection, and particle acceleration. A flare starts with the dissipation of electric currents in the corona, followed by various dynamic processes which affect lower atmospheres such as the chromosphere and photosphere. In order to understand the physical mechanism for producing a flare, theoretical modeling has been developed, in which numerical simulation is a strong tool reproducing the time-dependent, nonlinear evolution of plasma before and after the onset of a flare. In this talk we review various models of a flare proposed so far, explaining key features of these models. We show observed properties of flares, and then discuss the processes of energy build-up, release, and transport, all of which are responsible for producing a flare. We come to a concluding view that flares are the manifestation of recovering and ejecting processes of a global magnetic flux tube in the solar atmosphere, which was disrupted via interaction with convective plasma while it was rising through the convection zone.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.317-321
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• 2019

We investigated the characteristics of nano crystalline silicon(nc-Si) thin-film solar cells on graphite substrates. Amorphous silicon(a-Si) thin-film solar cells on graphite plates show low conversion efficiency due to high surface roughness, and many recombination by dangling bonds. In previous studies, we deposited barrier films by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition(PECVD) on graphite plate to reduce surface roughness and achieved ~7.8 % cell efficiency. In this study, we fabricated nc-Si thin film solar cell on graphite in order to increase the efficiency of solar cells. We achieved 8.45 % efficiency on graphite plate and applied this to nc-Si on graphite sheet for flexible solar cell applications. The characterization of the cell is performed with external quantum efficiency(EQE) and current density-voltage measurements(J-V). As a result, we obtain ~8.42 % cell efficiency in a flexible solar cell fabricated on a graphite sheet, which performance is similar to that of cells fabricated on graphite plates.

• 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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• 2012.02a
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• pp.337-337
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• 2012

Dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) having high efficiency with low cost was first reported by Gr$\ddot{a}$tzel et al. Many DSSC research groups attempt to enhance energy conversion efficiency by modifying the dye, electrolyte, Pt-coated electrode, and $TiO_2$ films. However, there are still some problems against realization of high-sensitivity DSSC such as the recombination of injected electrons in conduction band and the limited adsorption of dye on $TiO_2$ surface. The surface of $TiO_2$ is very important for improving hydrophilic property and dye adsorption on its surface. In this paper, we report a very efficient method to improve the efficiency and stability of DSSC with nano-structured $TiO_2$. Atmospheric plasma system was utilized for nitrogen plasma treatment on nano-structured $TiO_2$ film. We confirmed that the efficiency of DSSC was significantly dependent on plasma power. Relative in the $TiO_2$ surface change and characteristics after plasma was investigated by various analysis methods. The structure of $TiO_2$ films was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The morphology of $TiO_2$ films was observed using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The surface elemental composition was determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Each of plasma power differently affected conversion efficiency of DSSC with plasma-treated $TiO_2$ compared to untreated DSSC under AM 1.5 G spectral illumination of $100mWcm^{-2}$.