• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.37-41
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• 2017

Cuprous oxide ($Cu_2O$) is one of the potential candidates as an absorber layer in ultra-low-cost solar cells. $Cu_2O$ is highly desirable semiconducting oxide material for use in solar energy conversion due to its direct band gap ($E_g={\sim}2.1eV$) and high absorption coefficient that absorbs visible light of wavelength up to 650 nm. In addition, $Cu_2O$ has other several advantages such as non-toxicity, low cost and also can be prepared with simple and cheap methods on large scale. In this work, we deposited the $Cu_2O$ thin films by electrodeposition on gold coated $SiO_2/Si$ wafers. We changed the process conditions such as pH of the solution, applied potential on working electrode, and solution temperature. Finally, we confirmed the structural properties of the thin films by XRD and SEM.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.90-96
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• 2010

The recirculating electrochemical flow reactor developed at UCLA has been employed to fabricate nanostructured GMR multilayers. For comparison, Ni/Cu multilayers have been electrodeposited from a single bath, from dual baths and from the recirculating electrochemical flow reactor. For a magnetic field of 1.5 kOe, higher GMR (Max. -5%) Ni/Cu multilayers with low electrical resistivity (< $10\;{\mu}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$) were achieved by the electrochemical flow reactor system than by the dual bath (Max. GMR = -4.2% and < $20\;{\mu}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$) or the single bath (Max. GMR = -2.1% and < $90\;{\mu}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$) techniques. Higher GMR effects have been obtained by producing smoother, contiguous layers at lower current densities and by the elimination of oxide film formation by conducting deposition under an inert gas environment. Our preliminary GMR measurements of Ni/Cu multilayers from the electrochemical flow reactor obtained at low magnetic field of 0.15 T, which may approach or exceed the highest reported results (-7% GMR) at magnetic fields > 5 kOe.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.638-642
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• 2013

Chalcopyrite $CuInSe_2$(CIS) is considered to be an effective light-absorbing material for thin film photovoltaic solar cells. CIS thin films have been electrodeposited onto Mo coated and ITO glass substrates in potentiostatic mode at room temperature. The deposition mechanism of CIS thin films has been studied using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique. A cyclic voltammetric study was performed in unitary Cu, In, and Se systems, binary Cu-Se and In-Se systems, and a ternary Cu-In-Se system. The reduction peaks of the ITO substrate were examined in separate $Cu^{2+}$, $In^{3+}$, and $Se^{4+}$ solutions. Electrodeposition experiments were conducted with varying deposition potentials and electrolyte bath conditions. The morphological and compositional properties of the CIS thin films were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The surface morphology of as-deposited CIS films exhibits spherical and large-sized clusters. The deposition potential has a significant effect on the film morphology and/or grain size, such that the structure tended to grow according to the increase of the deposition potential. A CIS layer deposited at -0.6 V nearly approached the stoichiometric ratio of $CuIn_{0.8}Se_{1.8}$. The growth potential plays an important role in controlling the stoichiometry of CIS films.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2016

Recently, $Bi_2Te_3$-based alloys are the best thermoelectric materials near to room temperature, so it has been researched to achieve increased figure of merit(ZT). Ternary compounds such as Bi-Te-Se and Bi-Sb-Te have higher thermoelectric property than binary compound Bi-Te and Sb-Te, respectively. Compared to DC plating method, pulsed electrodeposition is able to control parameters including average current density, and on/off pulse time etc. Thereby the morphology and properties of the films can be improved. In this study, we electrodeposited n-type ternary Cu-doped $Bi_2(Te-Se)_3$ thin film by modified pulse technique at room temperature. To further enhance thermoelectric properties of $Bi_2(Te-Se)_3$ thin film, we optimized Cu doping concentration in $Bi_2(Te-Se)_3$ thin film and correlated it to electrical and thermoelectric properties. Thus, the crystal, electrical, and thermoelectric properties of electrodeposited $Bi_2(Te-Se)_3$ thin film were characterized the XRD, SEM, EDS, Seebeck measurement, and Hall effect measurement, respectively. As a result, the thermoelectric properties of Cu-doped $Bi_2(Te-Se)_3$ thin films were observed that the Seebeck coefficient is $-101.2{\mu}V/K$ and the power factor is $1412.6{\mu}W/mK^2$ at 10 mg of Cu weight. The power factor of Cu-doped $Bi_2(Te-Se)_3$ thin film is 1.4 times higher than undoped $Bi_2(Te-Se)_3$ thin film.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.47-53
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• 2018

Sn-based lithium-ion batteries have low cost and high theoretical specific capacity. However, one of major problem is the capacity fading caused by volume expansion during lithiation/delithiation. In this study, 3-dimensional foam structure of Cu-Sn alloy is prepared by co-electrodeposition including large free space to accommodate the volume expansion of Sn. The Cu-Sn foam structure exhibits highly porous and numerous small grains. The result of EDX mapping and XPS spectrum analysis confirm that Cu-Sn foam consists of $SnO_2$ with a small quantity of CuO. The Cu-Sn foam structure electrode shows high reversible redox peaks in cyclic voltammograms. The galvanostatic cell cycling performances show that Cu-Sn foam electrode has high specific capacity of 687 mAh/g at a current rate of 50 mA/g. Through SEM observation after the charge/discharge processes, the morphology of Cu-Sn foam structure is mostly maintained despite large volume expansion during the repeated lithiation/delithiation reactions.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.61-70
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• 2011

Thin film solar cells with chalcopyrite $CuInSe_2/Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ absorber materials, commonly known as "CIS/CIGS solar cells" have recently attracted significant research interest as a potential alternative energy-harvesting system for the next generation. Among the different deposition techniques available for the CIGS absorber layer, electrodeposition is an effective and low cost alternative to vacuum based deposition methods. This article reviews progress in the area of CIGS solar cells with an emphasis on electrodeposited absorber layer. Existing challenges in fabrication of stoichiometric absorber layer are highlighted.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.258-264
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• 2019

Assembling heterostructures by combining dissimilar oxide semiconductors is a promising approach to enhance charge separation and transfer in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this work, the CuO nanorods array/$Cu_2O$ thin film bilayered heterostructure was successfully fabricated by a facile method that involved a direct electrodeposition of the $Cu_2O$ thin film onto the vertically oriented CuO nanorods array to serve as the photoelectrode for the PEC water oxidation. The resulting copper-oxide-based heterostructure photoelectrode exhibited an enhanced PEC performance compared to common copper-oxide-based photoelectrodes, indicating good charge separation and transfer efficiency due to the band structure realignment at the interface. The photocurrent density and the optimal photocurrent conversion efficiency obtained on the CuO nanorods/$Cu_2O$ thin film heterostructure were $0.59mA/cm^2$ and 1.10% at 1.06 V vs. RHE, respectively. These results provide a promising route to fabricating earth-abundant copper-oxide-based photoelectrode for visible-light-driven hydrogen generation using a facile, low-cost, and scalable approach of combining electrodeposition and hydrothermal synthesis.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.192-192
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Ceranic Society Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.197.2-197
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• 2002

• Proceedings of the Korean Magnestics Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.178-179
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• 2005