• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.233-237
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• 2015

Silicon oxynitride that can be deposited two times faster than general SiNx:H layer was applied to fabricate the passivation protection layer of atomic layer deposition (ALD) $Al_2O_3$. The protection layer is deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition to protect $Al_2O_3$ passivation layer from a high temperature metallization process for contact firing in screen-printed silicon solar cell. In this study, we studied passivation performance of ALD $Al_2O_3$ film as functions of process temperature and RF plasma effect in plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system. $Al_2O_3$/SiON stacks coated at $400^{\circ}C$ showed higher lifetime values in the as-stacked state. In contrast, a high quality $Al_2O_3$/SiON stack was obtained with a plasma power of 400 W and a capping-deposition temperature of $200^{\circ}C$ after the firing process. The best lifetime was achieved with stack films fired at $850^{\circ}C$. These results demonstrated the potential of the $Al_2O_3/SiON$ passivated layer for crystalline silicon solar cells.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.58-61
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• 2009

The electrical stability of ZnO: Al thin films deposited on glass substrate by the RF magnetron sputtering method have been modified by a hydrogen annealing treatment and $SiO_2$ protection layer. AZO thin films were deposited at room temperature and different RF powers of 50, 100, 150, and 200 W to optimize the AZO film growth condition. The lowest value of resistivity of $9.44{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}cm$ was obtained at 2 mtorr, room temperature, and a power level of 150 W. Then, the AZO thin films were annealed at $250-400^{\circ}C$ for 1 h in hydrogen ambient. The minimum resistivity obtained was $8.32{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}cm$ as-annealed at $300^{\circ}C$. The electrical properties were enhanced by the hydrogen annealing treatment. After a 72 h damp-heat treatment in harsh conditions of a water steam at $110^{\circ}C$ for four representative samples, a degradation of electrical properties was observed. The sample of hydrogen-annealed AZO thin films with $SiO_2$ protection layer showed a slight degradation ratio(17%) of electrical properties and a preferable transmittance of 90%. The electrical stability of AZO thin films had been modified by hydrogen annealing treatment and $SiO_2$ protection layer.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.339-344
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• 2017

Highly corrosion resistance performance of CrAlSiN coatings were obtained by applying ultrathin $Al_2O_3$ thin films using atomic layer deposition (ALD) method. CrAlSiN coatings were prepared on Cr adhesion layer/SUS304 substrates by a hybrid coating system of arc ion plating and high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) method. And, ultrathin $Al_2O_3$ passivation layer was deposited on the CrAlSiN/Cr adhesion layer/SUS304 sample to protect CrAlSiN coatings by encapsulating the whole surface defects of coating using ALD. Here, the high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) analysis revealed that the ALD $Al_2O_3$ thin films uniformly covered the inner and outer surface of CrAlSiN coatings. Also, the potentiodynamic and potentiostatic polarization test revealed that the corrosion protection properties of CrAlSiN coatings/Cr/SUS304 sample was greatly improved by ALD encapsulation with 50 nm-thick $Al_2O_3$ thin films, which implies that ALD-$Al_2O_3$ passivation layer can be used as an effect barrier layer of corrosion.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.262-268
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• 2009

We investigated the properties of inorganic diatomic films like silicon oxide ($SiO_2$) and zinc oxide (ZnO) and their composite films are packed as a passivation layer around Ca cells on glass substrates by using an electron-beam evaporation technique and rf-magnetron sputtering method. When these Ca cells are exposed to an ambient atmosphere, the water vapor penetrating through the passivation layers is adsorbed in the Ca cells, resulting in a gradual progress of transparency in the Ca cells, which can be represented by changes of the optical transmittance in the visible range. Compared with the saturation times for the Ca cells to become completely transparent in the atmosphere, the protection effects against permeation of water vapor are estimated for various passivation films. The thin composite films consist of$SiO_2$ and ZnO are found to show a superior protection effect from water vapor permeation compared with diatomic inorganic films like $SiO_2$ and ZnO. Also, this inorganic thin composite films are also found that their protection effect against permeation of water vapor can be significantly enhanced by choosing their suitable composition ratio and deposition method, in addition, the main factors affecting the permeation of water vapor through the oxide films are found to be the polarizability and the packing density.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.79-84
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• 2017

The solar cells should be protected from the moisture and oxygen in order to sustain the properties and reliability of the devices. In this research, we prepared the protection films on the flexible plastic substrates by spray coating method using organic-inorganic hybrid solutions. The protection characteristics were studied depending on the various process conditions (nozzle distance, thicknesses of the coatings, film structures). The organic-inorganic solutions for the protection film layer were synthesized by addition of $Al_2O_3$ ($P.S+Al_2O_3$) and $SiO_2$ ($P.S+SiO_2$) nano-powders into PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) and SA (sodium alginate) (P.S) organic solution. The optical transmittances of the protection film with the thicknesses of $5{\mu}m$ showed 91%. The optical transmittance decreased from 81.6% to 73.6% with the film thickness increased from $78{\mu}m$ to $178{\mu}m$. In addition, the protective films were prepared on the PEN (polyethylene naphthalate), PC (polycarbonate) single plastic substrates as well as the Acrylate film coated on PC substrate (Acrylate film/PC double layer), and $Al_2O_3$ film coated on PEN substrate ($Al_2O_3$ film/PEN double layer) using the $P.S+Al_2O_3$ organic-inorganic hybrid solutions. The optimum protection film structure was studied by means of the measurements of water vapor transmittance rate (WVTR) and surface morphology. The protective film on PEN/$Al_2O_3$ double layer substrate showed the best water protective property, indicating the WVTR value of $0.004gm/m^2-day$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.283-284
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• 2008

Electrical and optical characteristics of indium tin oxide (ITO) and indium zinc oxide (IZO) films without and with $(SiO_2)_3(ZnO)_7$ at.% (SZO) film deposited on poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) and poly(ethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates as a gas barrier layer for flexible display were studied. The ITO and IZO films with SZO gas barrier layer showed the improved properties which were both the high transmittance of average 80% in the visible light range and the decreased sheet resistance as compared to those of ITO and IZO films without SZO layer. Particularly, the PEN substrate with only SZO gas barrier layer had a low water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of $\sim10^{-3}g/m^2$/day. Thus, we suggest that the SZO film with protection ability against the water vapor permeation can be applied to gas barrier layer for flexible display.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.101-110
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• 1998

큰 누설전류를 개선하고 누설전류 기구를 해석하기 위해 Pt/Ti/ SiO2/Si 기판상에서 2단계 sputtering 하여 PZT박막을 형성시켰다. 상온층과 perovskite의 두층으로 이루어진 PZT박막은 누설전류가 개선되었다. 특히 20nm의 상온층을 포함하는 PZT 박막은 유전상수 와 누설전류 특성이 모두 탁월한 것으로 나타났다. 이와 같은 조건에서 PZT 박막의 누설전 류 기구는 bulk 지배하는 기구로 바뀌었다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2012.11a
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• pp.16-16
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• 2012

Mg and its alloys have been of great interest because of their low density of 1.7, 30% lighter than Al, but their wide applications have been limited because of their poor resistances against corrosion and/or abrasion. Corrosion resistance of Mg alloys can be improved by formation of anodic films using anodic oxidation method in aqueous electrolytes. Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) is one of anodic oxidation methods by which hard anodic films can be formed as a result of micro-arc generation under high electric field. PEO method utilize not only substrate elements but also chemical components in electrolytes to form anodic films on Mg alloys. PEO films formed on AM50 magnesium alloy in an acidic fluozirconate electrolyte were observed to consist of mainly $ZrO_2$ and $MgF_2$. Liu et al reported that PEO coating on AM30 Mg alloy consists of $MgF_2$-rich outer porous layer and an MgO-rich dense inner layer. PEO films prepared on ACM522 Mg die-casting alloy in an aqueous phosphate solution were also reported to be composed of monoclinic $Mg_3(PO_4)_2$. $CeO_2$-incorporated PEO coatings were also reported to be formed on AZ31 Mg alloys in $CeO_2$ particle-containing $Na_2SiO_3$-based electrolytes. Magnesium tin hydroxide ($MgSn(OH)_6$) was also produced on AZ91D alloy by PEO process in stannate-containing electrolyte. Effects of $OH^-$, $F^-$, $PO{_4}^{3-}$ and $SiO{_3}^{2-}$ ions and alloying elements of Al and Sn on the formation of PEO films on pure Mg and Mg alloys and their protective properties against corrosion have been investigated in this work. $PO{_4}^{3-}$, $F^-$ and $SiO{_3}^{2-}$ ions were observed to contribute to the formation of PEO films but $OH^-$ ions were found to break down the surface films under high electric field. The effect of pulse current on the formation of PEO films will be also reported.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.127-131
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• 2015

Model alloys Fe-9Cr, Fe-20Cr and Fe-20Cr-20Ni (wt. %) with 0.1 and 0.2 % Si were exposed to $Ar-20CO_2-20H_2O$ gas at $818^{\circ}C$. The undoped alloys formed a thick iron-rich oxide scale. The additions of Si reduced scaling rates of Fe-9Cr to some extent but significantly suppressed the formation of iron oxide scales on Fe-20Cr and Fe-20Cr-20Ni. Carburisation also occurred in all undoped alloys, but not in Si-containing Fe-20Cr and Fe-20Cr-20Ni. Protection against carburisation was a result of the formation of an inner scale layer of silica.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.116-119
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• 2000

The advantage of plasma-sprayed coating is their good resistance against thermal shock due to the porous state of the coated layer with a consequently low Youngs modulus. However, the existence of many pores with a bimodal distribution and a laminar structure in the coating reduces coating strength and oxidation protection of the base metals. In order to counteract these problems, there have been many efforts to obtain dense coatings by spraying under low pressure or vacuum and by controlling particle size and morphology of the spraying materials. The aim of the present study is to survey the effects of the HIP treatment between 1100 and 130$0^{\circ}C$ on plasma-sprayed oxide coating of A1$_2$O$_3$, A1$_2$O$_3$-SiO$_2$on the metal substrate (type C18N10T stainless steel). These effects were characterized by phase identification, Vickers hardness measurement, and tensile test before and after HIPing. These results show that high-pressure treatment has an advantage for improving adhesive strength and Vickers hardness of plasma-sprayed coatings.