• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.211-215
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• 2017

Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) and wet etching are employed in existing texturing processes to fabricate solar cells. Laser etching is used for particular purposes such as selective etching for grooves. However, such processes require a higher level of cost and longer processing time and those factors affect the unit cost of each process of fabricating solar cells. As a way to reduce the unit cost of this process of making solar cells, an atmospheric plasma source will be employed in this study for the texturing of crystalline silicon wafers. In this study, we produced the atmospheric plasma source and examined its basic properties. Then, using the prepared atmospheric plasma source, we performed the texturing process of crystalline silicon wafers. The results obtained from texturing processes employing the atmospheric plasma source and employing RIE were examined and compared with each other. The average reflectance of the specimens obtained from the atmospheric plasma texturing process was 7.88 %, while that of specimens obtained from the texturing process employing RIE was 8.04 %. Surface morphologies of textured wafers were examined and measured through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and similar shapes of reactive ion etched wafers were found. The Power Conversion Efficiencies (PCE) of the solar cells manufactured through each process were 16.97 % (atmospheric plasma texturing) and 16.29 % (RIE texturing).

• Composites Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.185-190
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• 2020

Titanium is widely used as an implant material due to its excellent biocompatibility, but has a problem due to high cost and high Young's modulus compared to bone. Magnesium alloy is attracting attention as a material to replace it. Magnesium alloy, like titanium, has excellent biocompatibility and has a Young's modulus similar to that of bone. However, there are corrosion resistance problems due to corrosion, and various surface treatment methods are being studied to solve them. In this study, the ceramic coating layer was grown on the surface of the AZ31 magnesium alloy in an electrolytic solution containing EDTA, and the properties of the formed coating were analyzed through SEM and XRD to analyze the microstructure and shape, and measured the micro hardness of the coating layer. Corrosion properties in the body were evaluated through a corrosion test in SBF solution, a component similar to blood plasma.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.291-298
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• 2010

A conventional EGR cooler, which is used in an EGR system of an automobile diesel engine, has a low heat-exchange efficiency. To maximize the heat transfer between the exhaust gas and coolant, dimples are formed on the surface of heat exchange tubes. When designing the dimpled EGR cooler, the net heat transfer areas in the conventional and dimpled tube-type EGR coolers are compared. Structural integrity evaluations are also performed by combining finite element analysis with a homogenization method. Subsequently, the process of manufacturing the dimpled tube, i.e., the formation of dimples, edge bending, center v-notch bending, compression, and plasma welding, is established and carried out. Thus, the dimpled EGR cooler is developed, and its performance is verified.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.314-318
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• 2010

We fabricated a plasma texturing for multi-crystalline silicon cells using reactive ion etching (RIE). Multi-crystalline Si cells have not benefited from the cost-effective wet-chemical texturing processes that reduce front surface reflectance on single-crystal wafers. Elimination of plasma damage has been achieved while keeping front reflectance to extremely low levels. We will discuss reflectance, quantum efficiency and conversion efficiency for multi-crystalline Si solar cell by each RIE process conditions.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.218-225
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• 2011

Objectives: In this paper, a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor was investigated for degrading the dye Rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solutions. Methods: The DBD plasma reactor system in this study consisted of a plasma component [titanium discharge (inner), ground (outer) electrode and quartz dielectric tube], power source, and gas supply. The effects of various parameters such as first voltage (input power), gas flow rate, second voltage (output power), conductivity and pH were investigated. Results: Experimental results showed that a 99% aqueous solution of 20 mg/l Rhodamine B is decolorized following an eleven minute plasma treatment. When comparing the performance of electrolysis and plasma treatment, the RhB degradation of the plasma process was higher that of the electrolysis. The optimum first voltage and air flow rate were 160 V (voltage of trans is 15 kV) and 3 l/min, respectively. With increased second voltage (4 kV to 15 kV), RhB degradation was increased. The higher the pH and the lower conductivity, the more Rhodamine B degradation was observed. Conclusions: OH radical generation of dielectric plasma process was identified by degradation of N, N-dimethyl-4-nitrosoaniline (RNO, indicator of OH radical generation). It was observed that the effect of UV light, which was generated as streamer discharge, on Rhodamine B degradation was not high. Rhodamine B removal was influenced by real second voltage regardless of initial first and second voltage. The effects of pH and conductivity were not high on the Rhodamine B degradation.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.549-553
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• 2014

$CoSb_3$-based skutterudite compounds are candidate materials for thermoelectric power generation in the mid-temperature range (600 - 900 K) because their thermoelectric properties can be enhanced by doping and filling. The joining property of thermoelectric module electrodes containing thermoelectric materials is of great importance because it can dominate the efficiency of the thermoelectric module. This study examined the properties of $CoSb_3$/Al/Ti/CuMo joined by the spark plasma sintering technique. Titanium thin foil was used to prevent the diffusion of copper into $CoSb_3$ and Aluminum thin foil was used to improve the adhesion between $CoSb_3$ and Ti. The insertion of an Aluminum interlayer between the Ti and $CoSb_3$ was effective for joining $CoSb_3$ to Ti by forming an intermediate layer at the Al-$CoSb_3$ boundary without any micro cracks. Specifically, the adhesion strength of the Ti/Al/$CoSb_3$ joining interface showed a remarkable improvement compared with our previous results, without deterioration of electrical property in the interface.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.95-100
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• 2008

The investigation is to modify the mechanical and chemical properties of Mg alloys using a combination of rapid solidification and surface treatment. As the first approach, $Mg_{95}Zn_{4.3}Y_{0.7}$ was gas atomized and pressure sintered by spark plasma sintering process (SPS), showing much finer microstructure and higher strength than the alloys as cast. Further modification was performed by treating the surface of PM Mg specimen using Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) process. During the PEO processing, MgO layer was initiated to form on the surface of Mg powder compacts, and the thickness and the density of MgO layer were varied with the reaction time. The thickening rate became low with the reaction time due to the limited diffusion rate of Mg ions. The surface morphology, corrosion behavior and wear resistance were also discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.111-111
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• 2007

Further scaling the semiconductor devices down to low dozens of nanometer needs the extremely shallow depth in junction and the intentional counter-doping in the silicon gate. Conventional ion beam ion implantation has some disadvantages and limitations for the future applications. In order to solve them, therefore, plasma source ion implantation technique has been considered as a promising new method for the high throughputs at low energy and the fabrication of the ultra-shallow junctions. In this paper, we study about the effects of DC bias and base pressure as a process parameter. The diluted mixture gas (5% $PH_3/H_2$) was used as a precursor source and chamber is used for vacuum pressure conditions. After ion doping into the Si wafer(100), the samples were annealed via rapid thermal annealing, of which annealed temperature ranges above the $950^{\circ}C$. The junction depth, calculated at dose level of $1{\times}10^{18}/cm^3$, was measured by secondary ion mass spectroscopy(SIMS) and sheet resistance by contact and non-contact mode. Surface morphology of samples was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. As a result, we could accomplish the process conditions better than in advance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2000.02a
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• pp.128-128
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• 2000

박막의 탄성 특성을 평가하는 방법으로 nano-indentation, Brillouin light scattering measurement, ultrasonic surface wave measurement, bulge test, vibration membrane method 등 여러 가지가 제시되어 왔다. 이러한 방법들은 필름의 두께가 일정 두께 이상이 되어야 정확한 측정이 가능한 방법으로 매우 얇은 박막에서도 탄성특성을 평가할 수 있는 freehang, bridge 방법이 제시되었으며, 이 방법은 간단한 식각 공정을 통해 매우 얇은 박막에도 적용시킬 수 있다는 장점을 가지고 있다. 본 연구에서는 아주 얇은 박막에서도 탄성특성을 평가할 수 있는 freehang 방법을 이용하여 순수한 Diamond-like carbon (DLC) 필름과 Sidl 첨가된 DLC 필름의 탄성 특성을 평가하고자 한다. 실험에서 사용한 필름은 rf-PACVD 장비를 이용하여 증착하였다. 이때 전극과 플라즈마 사이의 바이어스 음전압은 -400 Vb로 합성압력은 10mTorr로 고정하였다. 사용한 반응 가스는 벤젠(C6H6), 그리고 벤젠과 희석된 실렌(SiH4 : H2 = 10 : 90)이며, 희석된 실렌의 첨가량을 조절하여 필름 내에 일정량의 Si을 함유시켰다. 각각의 조건에서 증착시간을 조절하여 필름의 두께를 변화시켰으며, KOH(5.6mol) 용액을 이용하여 습식 식각을 함으로써 freehang을 제작하였다. 이때 식각액에 의한 DLC 필름의 손상은 관찰되지 않았다. 필름의 잔류 응력을 측정하기 위해 200$\pm$10 혹은 100$\pm$5$\mu\textrm{m}$ 두께의 얇은 (100) Si wafer를 5$\times$50 mm2의 strip 형태로 절단하여 사용하였다. 필름의 압축 잔류 응력에 의해 발생한 필름/기판 복합체의 곡률은 laser 반사법과 $\alpha$-step profiler를 이용하여 측정하였으며, 이 결과를 Brenner 등에 유도된 식을 이용하여 잔류 응력을 계산하였다. 또한 제작된 frddhang은 광학 현미경과 전자주사현미경에 의해 관찰되었다. 이렇게 제작된 freehang을 이용하여 필름이 기판에 부착되기 위해 필요한 변형률을 측정하고, 독립적으로 측정된 필름의 잔류 응력을 박막의 응력-변형률 관계식에 적용하여 biaxial elastic modulus, E/(1-v)를 구할 수 있었다. 측정 결과 필름의 잔류 응력과 biaxial elastic modulus는 필름의 두께가 감소함에 따라 감소하는 경향을 나타냈으며, 같은 두께의 필름인 경우, 식각 깊이에 따른 biaxial elastic modulus 의 변화를 통해 최적의 식각 깊이를 알 수 있었다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.236-236
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• 2013

비냉각 적외선 검출기는 산업용 군사용으로 최근 각광을 받고 있다. 이는 주야간 빛이 없는 곳에서도 사물의 열을 감지할 수 있어 인체감지 및 보안감시, 에너지 절감 등에 응용될 수 있는 핵심부품이다. 비냉각 적외선 검출기로는 재료의 저항의 변화를 감지하는 마이크로볼로미터형이 가장 많이 사용된다. 감지재료로는 비정질 실리콘(a-Si)과 산화바나듐(VOx)이 가장 많이 사용된다. VOx 박막은 일반적으로 RF sputtering 방법으로 증착이 되며, 저항이 낮고, 저항의 온도변화 계수(TCR)가 크며 신호 대 잡음 특성이 우수한 반면 산소(oxygen) phase가 다양하여 갓 증착된 상태의 박막은 재현성이 떨어지는 단점이 있다. 본 연구에서는 기존의 V 타겟을 사용한 VOx 박막을 증착하는 방법을 개선하여 ZnO 나노박막을 중간에 삽입하여 저항 특성을 조절할 뿐만 아니라 열처리에 의해 TCR 값을 향상시키고, VO2 phase 가 주로 나타나는 박막 증착 및 공정 방법을 소개한다. RF sputtering 장비를 이용하여 산소와 아르곤 가스의 혼합비를 4.5로 하였으며, VOx 증착 시 플라즈마 Power는 150 W 로 하여 상온에서 증착하였다. 갓 증착된 VOx 다층박막의 XRD 스펙트럼은 V2O5 피크가 주된 상을 이루고 있었으며, 산소열처리에 의해 VO2 상이 주로 나타남을 알 수 있었다. TCR 값은 갓 증착된 샘플에서 -0.13%/K의 값을 얻었으며, $300^{\circ}C$에서 50분간 열처리 후 -3.37%/K 으로 급격히 향상됨을 알 수 있었다. 저항은 열처리 후 약 100 kohm으로 낮아져 검출소자를 위한 조건에 적합한 특성을 얻을 수 있었다. 또한 산소열처리의 온도 및 시간에 따라 TCR 및 표면 거칠기 특성을 조사하였으며, 최적의 열처리 조건을 얻고자 하였다.