• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.93-93
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• 2017

고전력 펄스 전원공급장치를 이용한 마그네트론 스퍼터링(high-power impulse magnetron sputtering; HiPIMS)과 직류(direct current; DC) 전원공급장치를 이용한 마그네트론 스퍼터링(DC 스퍼터링)을 이용하여 제조한 티타늄 질화물(titanium nitride; TiN) 박막의 특성을 비교하였다. HiPIMS와 DC 스퍼터링 공정 중에 빗각증착을 적용하여 TiN 박막의 미세구조와 기계적 특성의 변화를 확인하였다. TiN 박막을 코팅하기 위한 기판으로 스테인리스 강판(SUS304)과 초경(cemented carbide; WC-10wt.%Co)을 사용하였다. 기판은 알코올과 아세톤으로 초음파 처리를 실시하여 기판 표면의 불순물을 제거하였다. 기판 청정 후 진공용기 내부의 기판홀더에 기판을 장착하고 $2.0{\times}10^{-5}torr$의 기본 압력까지 진공배기를 실시하였다. 진공 용기의 압력이 기본 압력에 도달하면 아르곤(Ar) 가스를 진공용기 내부로 ${\sim}10^{-2}torr$의 압력으로 주입하고 기판홀더에 라디오 주파수(radio frequency; rf) 전원공급장치를 이용하여 - 800 V의 전압을 인가하여 글로우 방전을 발생시켜 30 분간 기판 표면의 산화막을 제거하는 기판청정을 실시하였다. 기판청정이 완료되면 기본 압력까지 진공배기를 실시하고 Ar과 질소($N_2$)의 혼합 가스를 진공용기 내부로 ${\sim}10^{-3}torr$의 압력으로 주입하여 HiPIMS와 DC 스퍼터링으로 TiN 박막 제조를 실시하였다. 빗각의 크기는 $45^{\circ}$와 $-45^{\circ}$이었다. 제조된 TiN 박막은 주사전자 현미경, 비커스 경도 측정기 그리고 X-선 회절 분석기를 이용하여 특성을 분석하였다. HiPIMS로 제조한 TiN 박막은 기판 전압을 인가하지 않아도 색상이 노란색을 보이지만, DC 스퍼터링으로 제조한 TiN 박막은 기판 전압을 인가하지 않으면 노란색을 보이지 않고 어두운 갈색에 가까운 색을 보였다. TiN 박막의 경도는 HiPIMS로 제조한 TiN 박막이 DC 스퍼터링으로 제조한 TiN 박막보다 높았다. 이러한 TiN 박막의 특성 차이는 DC 스퍼터링과 비교하여 높은 HiPIMS의 이온화율에 의한 결과로 판단된다. 빗각을 적용한 TiN 박막은 미세구조 변화를 보였으며 이러한 미세구조 변화는 TiN 박막의 특성에 영향을 미치는 것을 확인하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.389-389
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• 2012

Molybdenum is one of the most important materials used as a back ohmic contact for $Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)_2$ (CIGS) solar cells because it has good electrical properties as an inert and mechanically durable substrate during the absorber film growth. Sputter deposition is the common deposition process for Mo thin films. Molybdenum thin films were deposited on soda lime glass (SLG) substrates using direct-current planar magnetron sputtering technique. The outdiffusion of Na from the SLG through the Mo film to the CIGS based solar cell, also plays an important role in enhancing the device electrical properties and its performance. The structure, surface morphology and electrical characteristics of Mo thin films are generally dependent on deposition parameters such as DC power, pressure, distance between target and substrate, and deposition temperature. The aim of the present study is to show the resistivity of Mo layers, their crystallinity and morphologies, which are influenced by the substrate temperature. The thickness of Mo films is measured by Tencor-P1 profiler. The crystal structures are analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD: X'Pert MPD PRO / Philips). The resistivity of Mo thin films was measured by Hall effect measurement system (HMS-3000/0.55T). The surface morphology and grain shape of the films were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM: Hitachi S-4300). The chemical composition of the films was obtained by the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Finally the optimum substrate temperature as well as deposition conditions for Mo thin films will be developed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.129-129
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• 2018

Hard coating application is effective way of cutting tool for hard-to-machine materials such as Inconel, Ti and composite materials focused on high-tech industries which are widely employed in aerospace, automobile and the medical device industry also Information Technology. In cutting tool for hard-to-machine materials, high hardness is one of necessary condition along with high temperature stability and wear resistance. In recent years, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) which consist of five or more principal elements having an equi-atomic percentage were reported by Yeh. The main features of novel HEAs reveal thermodynamically stable, high strength, corrosion resistance and wear resistance by four characteristic features called high entropy, sluggish diffusion, several-lattice distortion and cocktail effect. It can be possible to significantly extend the field of application such as cutting tool for difficult-to-machine materials in extreme conditions. Base on this understanding, surface coatings using HEAs more recently have been developed with considerable interest due to their useful properties such as high hardness and phase transformation stability of high temperature. In present study, the nanocomposite coating layers with high hardness on WC substrate are investigated using high entropy alloy target made a powder metallurgy. Among the many surface coating methods, reactive magnetron sputtering is considered to be a proper process because of homogeneity of microstructure, improvement of productivity and simplicity of independent control for several critical deposition parameters. The N2 is applied to reactive gas to make nitride system with transition metals which is much harder than only alloy systems. The acceleration voltage from 100W to 300W is controlled by direct current power with various deposition times. The coating layers are systemically investigated by structural identification (XRD), evaluation of microstructure (FE-SEM, TEM) and mechanical properties (Nano-indenter).

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.195-199
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• 2011

ITO thin films and gold (Au), copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) intermediate ITO multilayer (ITO/Au/ITO, ITO/Cu/ITO, ITO/Ni/ITO) films were deposited on glass substrates with a reactive radio frequency and direct current magnetron sputtering system and then the effect of intermediate metal layer and annealing temperature on the methanol gas sensitivity of ITO films were investigated. Although both ITO and ITO/metal/ITO (IMI) film sensors have the same total thickness of 100 nm, IMI sensors have a sandwich structure of ITO 50 nm/metal 10 nm/ITO 40 nm. The change in the gas sensitivity of the film sensors caused by methanol gas ranging from 100 to 1000 ppm was measured at room temperature. The IAI film sensors showed the higher sensitivity than the other sensors. Finally, it is concluded that the ITO 50/Au 10/ITO 40 nm film sensors hasthe potential to be used as improved methanol gas sensor.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.206-211
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• 2019

Silicon carbide (SiC) thin films become superhard when they have microstructures of nanocolumnar crystalline grains (NCCG) with an intergranular amorphous SiC matrix. We investigated the role of ion bombardment and deposition temperature in forming the NCCG in SiC thin films. A direct-current (DC) unbalanced magnetron sputtering method was used with pure Ar as sputtering gas to deposit the SiC thin films at fixed target power of 200 W and chamber pressure of 0.4 Pa. The Ar ion bombardment of the deposited films was conducted by applying a negative DC bias voltage 0-100 V to the substrate during deposition. The deposition temperature was varied between room temperature and $450^{\circ}C$. Above a critical bias voltage of -80 V, the NCCG formed, whereas, below it, the SiC films were amorphous. Additionally, a minimum thermal energy (corresponding to a deposition temperature of $450^{\circ}C$ in this study) was required for the NCCG formation. Transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and glancing angle X-ray diffraction analysis (GAXRD) were conducted to probe the samples' structural characteristics. Of those methods, Raman spectroscopy was a particularly efficient non-destructive tool to analyze the formation of the SiC NCCG in the film, whereas GAXRD was insufficiently sensitive.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.363-367
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• 2022

Transparent ZnO/Ti/ZnO (ZTZ) tri-layered films were prepared with radio frequency (RF) and direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering on the glass substrate. The thickness of the ZnO and Ti films was kept at 50 and 10 nm to consider the effect of the electron irradiation on the crystallization and optoelectrical properties of the films. From the XRD spectra, post-depostion electron irradiated films showed the characteristic peaks of ZnO(002) and Ti(200), respectively. the observed grain size of the ZnO(002) and Ti(200) enlarged up to 18.27 and 12.16 nm at an irradiation condition of 750 eV. In the figure of merit which means an optoelectrical performance of the films, as deposited films show a figure of merit of 2.0×10^-5 𝛺^-1, while the films electron irradiated at 750 eV show a higher figure of merit of 5.7×10^-5 𝛺^-1.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.497-501
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• 2023

ZnO/Cu/ZnO (ZCZ) thin films were deposited at room temperature on a glass substrate using direct current (DC) and radio frequency (RF, 13.56 MHz) magnetron sputtering and then the effect of post-deposition electron irradiation on the structural, optical, electrical and transparent heater properties of the films were considered. ZCZ films that were electron beam irradiated at 500 eV showed an increase in the grain sizes of their ZnO(102) and (201) planes to 15.17 nm and 11.51 nm, respectively, from grain sizes of 13.50 nm and 10.60 nm observed in the as deposited films. In addition, the film's optical and electrical properties also depended on the electron irradiation energies. The highest opto-electrical performance was observed in films electron irradiated at 500 eV. In a heat radiation test, when a bias voltage of 18 V was applied to the film that had been electron irradiated at 500 eV, its steady state temperature was about 90.5 ℃. In a repetition test, it reached the steady state temperature within 60 s at all bias voltages.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.16.1-16.1
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• 2009

We have fabricated solution processed oxide semiconductor active layer for thin film transistors (TFTs). The oxide semiconductor layers were prepared by ink-jet printing the sol-gel precursor solution based on doped-ZnO. Inorganic ZnO-based thin films have drawn significant attention as an active channel layer for TFTs applications alternative to conventional Si-based materials and organic semiconducting materials, due to their wide energy band gap, optical transparency, high mobility, and better stability. However, in spite of such excellent device performances, the fabrication methods of ZnO related oxide active layer involve high cost vacuum processes such as sputtering and pulsed laser deposition. Herein we introduced the ink-jet printing technology to prepare the active layers of oxide semiconductor. Stable sol-gel precursor solutions were obtained by controlling the composition of precursor as well as solvents and stabilizers, and their influences on electrical performance of the transistors were demonstrated by measuring electrical parameters such as off-current, on-current, mobility, and threshold voltage. Microstructure and thermal behavior of the doped ZnO films were investigated by SEM, XRD, and TG/DTA. Furthermore, we studied the influence of the ink-jet printing conditions such as substrate temperature and surface treatment on the microstructure of the ink-jet printed active layers and electrical performance. The mobility value of the device with optimized condition was about 0.1-1.0 $cm^2/Vs$ and the on/off current ratio was about $10^6$. Our investigations demonstrate the feasibility of the ink-jet printed oxide TFTs toward successful application to cost-effective and mass-producible displays.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.106-109
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• 2011

We investigated the etching characteristics of titanium nitride (TiN) thin film in $BCl_3$/Ar inductively coupled plasma. The etching parameters were the gas mixing ratio, radio frequency (RF) power, direct current (DC)-bias voltages and process pressures. The standard conditions were as follows: total flow rate = 20 sccm, RF power = 500 W, DC-bias voltage = -100 V, substrate temperature = $40^{\circ}C$, and process pressure = 15 mTorr. The maximum etch rate of TiN thin film and the selectivity of TiN to $Al_2O_3$ thin film were 54 nm/min and 0.79. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed no accumulation of etch byproducts from the etched surface of TiN thin film. The TiN film etch was dominated by the chemical etching with assistance by Ar sputtering in reactive ion etching mechanism, based on the experimental results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.207-207
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• 2010

Both ZnO and GaN have excellent physical properties in optoelectronic devices such as blue light emitting diode (LED), blue laser diode (LD), and ultra-violet (UV) detector. The ZnO/GaN heterostructure, which has a potential to achieve the cost efficient LED technology, has been fabricated by using radio frequency (RF) sputtering, pyrolysis, metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), direct current (DC) arc plasmatron, and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) methods. Among them, the PLD system has a benefit to control the composition ratio of the grown film from the mixture target. A 500-nm-thick ZnO film was grown by PLD technique on c-plane GaN/sapphire substrates. The post annealing process was executed at some varied temperature between from $300^{\circ}C$ to $900^{\circ}C$. The morphology and crystal structural properties obtained by using atomic force microscope (AFM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the crystal quality of ZnO thin films can be improved as increasing the annealing temperature. We will discuss the post-treatment effect on film quality (uniformity and reliability) of ZnO/GaN heterostructures.