• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.352-357
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• 2012

$SnO_2$-mixed and Sn-doped $TiO_2$ nanoparticles were synthesized via a hydrothermal process. $SnO_2$-mixed $TiO_2$ nanoparticles prepared in a neutral condition consisted of anatase $TiO_2$ nanoparticles(diamond shape, ~25 nm) and cassiterite $SnO_2$ nanoparticles(spherical shape, ~10 nm). On the other hand, Sn-doped $TiO_2$ nanoparticles obtained under a high acidic condition showed a crystalline phase corresponding to rutile $TiO_2$. As the Sn content increased, the particle shape changed from rod-like(d~40 nm, 1~200 nm) to spherical(18 nm) with a decrease in the particle size. The peak shift in the XRD results and a change of the c-axis lattice parameter with the Sn content demonstrate that the $TiO_2$ in the rutile phase was doped with Sn. The photocatalytic activity of the $SnO_2$-mixed $TiO_2$ nanoparticles dramatically increased and then decreased when the $SnO_2$ content exceeded 4%. The increased photocatalytic activity is mainly attributed to the improved charge separation of the $TiO_2$ nanoparticles with the $SnO_2$. In the case of Sn-doped $TiO_2$ nanoparticles, the photocatalytic activity increased slightly with the Sn content due most likely to the larger energy bandgap caused by Sn-doping and the decrease in the particle size. The $SnO_2$-mixed $TiO_2$ nanoparticles generally exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than the Sn-doped $TiO_2$ nanoparticles. This was caused by the phase difference of $TiO_2$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.125-131
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• 2021

Semiconductor-based photocatalysts can only be activated with ultraviolet or visible light due to their intrinsic bandgap, and they cannot use the energy in the near-infrared region, which accounts for about 50% of solar energy. Therefore, in order to improve the performance of the semiconductor photocatalyst, it is necessary to utilize more solar energy in a broad band ranging from ultraviolet to near-infrared. Combining upconversion nanoparticles with semiconductor photocatalysts for near-infrared absorption have thus been reported. Upconversion nanoparticles can sequentially absorb multiple near-infrared photons and convert them into ultraviolet or visible to activate photocatalysts. In addition, by coupling the semiconductor photocatalyst and the upconversion nanoparticles with the plasmonic metal nanoparticles, the photocatalytic activity can be further improved. This review summarizes the recent studies on improving the photocatalytic performance with near-infrared absorption by using upconversion nanoparticles.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.96-101
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• 2022

The effects of the growth temperature on the structural, optical, and morphological properties of BaWO₄:Sm³⁺ phosphor thin films were investigated. The BaWO₄:Sm³⁺ thin films were grown on quartz substrates at several growth temperatures by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. All the thin films crystallized in a tetragonal structure with a main BaWO₄ (112) diffraction peak. The 830 nm-thick BaWO₄:Sm³⁺ thin films grown at 300 ℃ exhibited numerous polygon-shaped particles. The excitation spectra of BaWO₄:Sm³⁺ thin films consisted of a broad excitation band in the 200-270 nm with a maximum at 236 nm due to the O^2--Sm³⁺ charge transfer and two small bands peaked at 402 and 463 nm, respectively. Under 236 nm excitation, the BaWO₄:Sm³⁺ thin films showed an intense red emission peak at 641 nm due to the ⁴G_5/2→⁶H_9/2 transition of Sm³⁺, indicating that the Sm³⁺ ions occupied sites of non-inversion symmetry in the BaWO₄ host lattice. The highest emission intensity was observed for the thin film grown at 300 ℃, with a 51.8% transmittance and 5.09 eV bandgap. The average optical transmittance in the wavelength range of 500-1100 nm was increased from 53.2% at 200 ℃ to 60.8% after growing at 400 ℃. These results suggest that 300 ℃ is the optimum temperature for growing redemitting BaWO₄:Sm³⁺ thin films.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.344-351
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• 2023

Cesium lead iodide (CsPbI₃) with a bandgap of ~1.7 eV is an attractive material for use as a wide-gap perovskite in tandem perovskite solar cells due to its single halide component, which is capable of inhibiting halide segregation. However, phase transition into a photo inactive δ-CsPbI₃ at room temperature significantly hinders performance and stability. Thus, maintaining the photo-active phase is a key challenge because it determines the reliability of the tandem device. The dimethylammonium (DMA)-facilitated CsPbI₃, widely used to fabricate CsPbI₃, exhibits different phase transition behaviors than pure CsPbI₃. Here, we experimentally investigated the phase behavior of DMA-facilitated CsPbI₃ when exposed to external factors, such as heat and moisture. In DMA-facilitated CsPbI₃ films, the phase transition involving degradation was observed to begin at a temperature of 150 ℃ and a relative humidity of 65 %, which is presumed to be related to the sublimation of DMA. Forming a closed system to inhibit the sublimation of DMA significantly improved the phase transition under the same conditions. These results indicate that management of DMA is a crucial factor in maintaining the photo-active phase and implies that when employing DMA designs are necessary to ensure phase stability in DMA-facilitated CsPbI₃ devices.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.388-396
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• 2023

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a vital source of clean and sustainable hydrogen energy. Moreover, the large-scale H₂ production is currently necessary, while long-term stability and high PEC activity still remain important issues. In this study, a GaN-based photoelectrode was modified by an additional NH₃ treatment (900℃ for 10 min) and its PEC behavior was monitored. The bare GaN exhibited a highly crystalline wurtzite structure with the (002) plane and the optical bandgap was approximately 3.2 eV. In comparison, the NH₃-treated GaN film exhibited slightly reduced crystallinity and a small improvement in light absorption, resulting from the lattice stress or cracks induced by the excessive N supply. The minor surface nanotexturing created more surface area, providing electroactive reacting sites. From the surface XPS analysis, the formation of an N-Ga-O phase on the surface region of the GaN film was confirmed, which suppressed the charge recombination process and the positive shift of E_FB. Therefore, these effects boosted the PEC activity of the NH₃-treated GaN film, with J values of approximately 0.35 and 0.78 mA·cm^-2 at 0.0 and 1.23 V_RHE, respectively, and an onset potential (V_on) of -0.24 V_RHE. In addition, there was an approximate 50% improvement in the J value within the highly applied potential region with a positive shift of V_on. This result could be explained by the increased nanotexturing on the surface structure, the newly formed defect/trap states correlated to the positive V_on shift, and the formation of a GaO_xN_1-x phase, which partially blocked the charge recombination reaction.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.106-111
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• 2015

Since most reference voltage generator circuits have bi-stable characteristics, it is important to employ a proper start-up circuit to operate a reference generator in the desired state. In this paper, we propose a start-up circuit for a low voltage reference generator. This start-up circuit determines the state of the circuit reliably by measuring the current drawn by BJTs in the circuit, which is well-defined in the desired state. To measure the current using CMOS-compatible devices only, a comparator with an internal offset voltage is used. The reliability of the proposed circuit is confirmed by Monte-Carlo simulations of the start-up operation, which show that, with the proposed start-up circuit, the low voltage reference generator starts reliably with supply voltages over 850mV even in the presence of device mismatches.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1375-1381
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• 2010

LED(Light Emitting Diode) is an emitting device which energy is same to the bandgap energy of p-type and n-type semiconductor junction. Recently high brightness LED is used in fish-luring light and traffic signal light alternative of normal light bulb, and widely used in the area of display pannel. Moreover nowadays LED has been used as a back light of LCD display. Recently, visible light communication(VLC) using LED, that allow two-way serial data communication between LEDs over a distance of sveral centimeters or meters, has been widely studied in the area of digital information transmission along with illumination and display. In this paper, we present LED communication system and their applications.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.141-141
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• 2018

Copper is one of the most abundant metals on earth. Its oxide (CuO) is an intrinsically p-type metal-oxide semiconductor with a bandgap ($E_g$) of 1.2-2.0 eV 1. Copper oxide nanomaterials are considered as promising materials for a wide range of applications e.g., lithium ion batteries, dye-sensitized solar cells, photocatalytic hydrogen production, photodetectors, and biogas sensors 2-7. Recently, high-density and uniform CuO nanostructures have been grown on Cu foils in alkaline solutions 3. In 2011, T. Soejima et al. proposed a facile process for the oxidation synthesis of CuO nanobelt arrays using $NH_3-H_2O_2$ aqueous solution 8. In 2017, G. Kaur et al. synthesized CuO nanostructures by treating Cu foils in $NH_4OH$ at room temperature for different treatment times 9. The surface treatment of Cu in alkaline aqueous solutions is a potential method for the mass fabrication of CuO nanostructures with high uniformity and density. It is interesting to compare the gas sensing properties among CuO nanomaterials synthesized by this approach and by others. Nevertheless, none of above studies investigated the gas sensing properties of as-synthesized CuO nanomaterials. In this study, CuO nanowalls versus nanoparticles were synthesized via the oxidation process of Cu foil in NH4OH solution at $50-70^{\circ}C$. The gas sensing properties of the as-prepared CuO nanoplates were examined with $C_2H_5OH$, $CH_3COCH_3$, and $NH_3$ at $200-360^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea TC
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• v.44 no.7 s.361
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• pp.29-34
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• 2007

This paper presents a novel photonic bandgap (PBG) structure for size reduction and linearity improvement in power amplifier. The proposed structure is a two-dimensional (2-D) periodic lattice patterned on a dielectric slab that does not require nonplanar fabrication process. Throughout the experi-mental results, this structure has more broad stopband and high suppression performance than conventional three cell PBG and distorted uniplanar compact-PBG (DUC-PBG). This new PBG structure can be applied with power amplifier for linearity improvement. The 3rd intermodulation distortion (IMD3) of the power amplifier using new PBG structure is -36.16 dBc for (code division multiple access) CDMA applications. Compared with power amplifier without the proposed PBG structure, improved IMD3 is -13.49 dBc.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.567-577
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• 2019

Aluminum nitride (AlN) has versatile and intriguing properties, such as wide direct bandgap, high thermal conductivity, good thermal and chemical stability, and various functionalities. Due to these properties, AlN thin films have been applied in various fields. However, AlN thin films are usually deposited by high temperature processes like chemical vapor deposition. To further enlarge the application of AlN films, atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been studied as a method of AlN thin film deposition at low temperature. In this mini review paper, we summarize the results of recent studies on AlN film grown by thermal and plasma enhanced ALD in terms of processing temperature, precursor type, reactant gas, and plasma source. Thermal ALD can grow AlN thin films at a wafer temperature of $150{\sim}550^{\circ}C$ with alkyl/amine or chloride precursors. Due to the low reactivity with $NH_3$ reactant gas, relatively high growth temperature and narrow window are reported. On the other hand, PEALD has an advantage of low temperature process, while crystallinity and defect level in the film are dependent on the plasma source. Lastly, we also introduce examples of application of ALD-grown AlN films in electronics.