• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2015

High efficiency $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ solar cells are generally prepared above $500^{\circ}C$. Lowering the process temperature can allow wider selection of substrate material and process window. In this paper, the three-stage co-evaporation process widely used to grow CIGS thin film at high temperature was modified to reduce the maximum substrate temperature. Below $400^{\circ}C$ the CIGS films show poor crystal growth and lower solar cell performance, in spite of external Na doping by NaF. As a new approach, Cu source instead of Cu with Se in the second stage was applied on the $(In,Ga)_2Se_3$ precursor at $400^{\circ}C$ and achieved a better crystal growth. The distribution of Ga in the films produce by new method were investigated and solar cells were fabricated using these films.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.571-574
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• 2010

Surface recombination loss should be reduced for high efficiency of solar cells. To reduce this loss, the BSF (back surface field) is used. The BSF on the back of the p-type wafer forms a p+layer, which prevents the activity of electrons of the p-area for the rear recombination. As a result, the leakage current is reduced and the rear-contact has a good Ohmic contact. Therefore, the open-circuit-voltage (Voc) and fill factor (FF) of solar cells are increased. This paper investigates the formation of the rear contact process by comparing aluminum-paste (Al-paste) with pure aluminum-metal(99.9%). Under the vacuum evaporation process, pure aluminum-metal(99.9%) provides high conductivity and low contact resistance of $4.2\;m{\Omega}cm$, but It is difficult to apply the standard industrial process to it because high vacuum is needed, and it's more expensive than the commercial equipment. On the other hand, using the Al-paste process by screen printing is simple for the formation of metal contact, and it is possible to produce the standard industrial process. However, Al-paste used in screen printing is lower than the conductivity of pure aluminum-metal(99.9) because of its mass glass frit. In this study, contact resistances were measured by a 4-point probe. The contact resistance of pure aluminum-metal was $4.2\;m{\Omega}cm$ and that of Al-paste was $35.69\;m{\Omega}cm$. Then the rear contact was analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM).

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.732-736
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• 2016

Air conditioning part designs are moving towards higher efficiency and productivity. The expansion device is one of the core parts of an air conditioning system and controls the refrigerant quantity, evaporation load, compression capacity, and condensation capacity. In this study, an electronic expansion valve for two working fluids ($CO_2$ and R134a) was developed for air conditioning systems in vehicles. The valve uses an eccentric cam driving structure instead of a lead screw to decrease manufacturing costs and increase productivity. The pressure resistance and flow rate performance was evaluated using numerical analysis. At maximum operation conditions and burst pressure conditions with $CO_2$, the maximum stresses on the valve model were about 98 MPa and 223 MPa, respectively. The maximum flow rates of $CO_2$ and R134a with different orifice openings were about 550 kg/h and 386 kg/h, respectively. The performance with R134a was verified by experiments.

• Current Applied Physics
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1496-1506
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• 2018

Organic/inorganic ultraviolet photodetector was fabricated using thermal evaporation technique. Organic/inorganic heterojunction based on thermally evaporated copper (II) acetylacetonate thin film of thickness 200 nm deposited on an n-type silicon substrate is introduced. I-V characteristics of the fabricated heterojunction were investigated under UV illumination of intensity $65mW/cm^2$. The diode parameters such as ideality factor, n, barrier height, ${\Phi}_B$, and reverse saturation current, $I_s$, were determined using thermionic emission theory. The series resistance of the fabricated diode was determined using modified Nord's method. The estimated values of series resistance and barrier height of the diode were about $0.33K{\Omega}$ and 0.72 eV, respectively. The fabricated photodetector exhibited a responsivity and specific detectivity about 9 mA/W and $4.6{\times}10^9$ Jones, respectively. The response behavior of the fabricated photodetector was analyzed through ON-OFF switching behavior. The estimated values of rise and fall time of the present architecture under UV illumination were about 199 ms and 154 ms, respectively. Finally, enhancing the photoresponsivity of the fabricated photodetector, post-deposition plasma treatment process was employed. A remarkable modification of the device performance was noticed as a result of plasma treatment. These modifications are representative in a decrease of series resistance and an increase of photoresponsivity and specific detectivity. The process of plasma treatment achieved an increment of external quantum efficiency from 5.53% to 8.34% at -3.5 V under UV illumination.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.267-273
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• 2019

Hierarchically porous $Fe_2O_3$ nanofibers with meso- and macro- pores are designed and synthesized by electrospinning and subsequent heat-treatment. The macro pores are generated by selectively decomposition of polystyrene as a dispersed phase in the as-spun fibers containing $Fe(acac)_3$/polyacrylonitrile continuous phases during heat-treatment. Additionally, meso-pores formed by evaporation of infiltrated water vapor during electrospinning process interconnected the macro-pores and results in the formation of hierarchically porous $Fe_2O_3$ nanofibers. The initial discharge capacity and Coulombic efficiency of the hierarchically porous $Fe_2O_3$ nanofibers at a current density of $1.0A\;g^{-1}$ are $1190mA\;h\;g^{-1}$ and 79.2%. Additionally, the discharge capacity of the nanofibers is $792mA\;h\;g^{-1}$ after 1,000 cycles. The high structural stability and morphological benefits of the hierarchically porous $Fe_2O_3$ nanofibers resulted in superior lithium ion storage performance.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.8-12
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• 2023

In this work, we investigated the thickness of Ag precursor layer to improve the performance of flexible CIGSe solar cells grown on stainless steel (STS) substrates through three-stage co-evaporation with Ga grading followed by alkali treatments. The small amount of incorporated Ag in CIGSe films showed enhancement in the grain size and device efficiency. With an optimal 6 nm-thick Ag layer, the best cell on the STS substrate yielded more than 16%, which is comparable to the soda-lime glass (SLG) substrate. Thus, the addition of controlled Ag combined with alkali post-deposition treatment (PDT) led to increased open-circuit voltage (VOC), accompanied by the increased built-in potential as confirmed by capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. It is related to a reduction of charge recombination at the depletion region. The results suggest that Ag alloying and alkali PDT are essential for producing highly efficient flexible CIGSe solar cells.

• FOCUS: LIFE SCIENCE
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• no.1
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• pp.1.1-1.4
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• 2024

This article provides comprehensive guidance on the maintenance, cleaning, regeneration, and storage of silica-based HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) columns. The general considerations emphasize the importance of using in-line filters and guard cartridges to protect columns from blockage and irreversible sample adsorption. While these measures help, contamination by strongly adsorbed sample components can still occur over time, leading to an increase in back pressure, loss of efficiency, and other issues. To maximize column lifetime, especially with UHPLC (Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography) columns, it is advisable to use ultra-pure solvents, freshly prepared aqueous mobile phases, and to filter all samples, standards, and mobile phases. Additionally, an in-line filter system and sample clean-up on dirty samples are recommended. However, in cases of irreversible compound adsorption or column voiding, regeneration may not be possible. The document also provides specific recommendations for column cleaning procedures, including the flushing procedures for various types of columns such as reversed phase, unbonded silica, bonded normal phase, anion exchange, cation exchange, and size exclusion columns for proteins. The flushing procedures involve using specific solvents in a series to clean and regenerate the columns. It is emphasized that the flow rate during flushing should not exceed the specified limit for the particular column, and the last solvent used should be compatible with the mobile phase. Furthermore, the article outlines the storage conditions for silica based HPLC columns, highlighting the impact of storage conditions on the column's lifetime. It is recommended to flush all buffers, salts, and ion-pairing reagents from the column before storage. The storage solvent should ideally match the one used in the initial column test chromatogram provided by the manufacturer, and column end plugs should be fitted to prevent solvent evaporation and drying out of the packing bed.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.1102-1139
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• 2002

A review on the papers published in the Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigerating Engineering in 2000 and 2001 has been done. Focus has been put on current status of research in the aspect of heating, cooling, ventilation, sanitation and building environment. The conclusions are as follows. (1) Most of fundamental studies on fluid flow were related with heat transportation of facilities. Drop formation and rivulet flow on solid surfaces were interesting topics related with condensation augmentation. Research on micro environment considering flow, heat, humidity was also interesting for comfortable living environment. It can be extended considering biological aspects. Development of fans and blowers of high performance and low noise were continuing topics. Well developed CFD technologies were widely applied for developing facilities and their systems. (2) Most of papers related with heat transfer analysis and heat exchanger shows dealt with convection, evaporation, and channel flow for the design application of heat exchanger. The numerical heat transfer simulation studies have been peformed and reported to show heat transfer characteristics. Experimental as well as numerical studies on heat exchanger were reported, while not many papers are available for the system analysis including heat exchanger. (3) A review of the recent studies on heat pump system shows that performance analysis and control of heat pump have been peformed by various simulations and experiments. The research papers on multi-type heat pump system increased significantly. The studies on heat pipe have been examined experimently for change of working characteristics and strut lure. Research on the phase change has been carried out steadily and operation strategies of encapsulated ice storage tank are reported experimentally in several papers. (4) A review of recent studies on refrigeration/air conditioning system have focused on the system performance and efficiency for new alternative refrigerants. Evaporation and condensation heat transfer characteristics are investigated for tube shapes and new alternative refrigerants. Studies on components of refrigeration/air conditioning system are carried to examine efficiency for various compressors and performance of new expansion devices. In addition to thermophysical properties of refrigerant mixtures, studies on new refrigerants are also carried out, however research works on two-phase flow seemed to be insufficient. (5) A review of the recent studies on absorption cooling system indicates that heat and mass transfer phenomena have been investigated to improve absorber performance. Various experimental data have been presented and several simulation models have been proposed. A review of the recent studies on duct and ventilation shows that ventilation indices have been proposed to quantify the ventilation performance in buildings and tunnels. Main efforts have been focused on the applications of ventilation effectiveness in practice, either numerically using computational fluid dynamics or experimentally using tracer gas techniques. (6) Based on a review of recent studies on indoor thermal environment and building service systems, research issues have mainly focused on many innovative ideas such as underfloor air-conditioning system, personal environmental modules, radiant floor cooling and etc. Also, the new approaches for minimizing energy consumption as well as improving indoor environmental conditions through predictive control of HVAC systems, various activities of building energy management and cost-benefit analysis for economic evaluation were highlighted.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.521-530
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• 1993

According to the Montreal Protocol, CFC 113, one of the ozone-depleting substances, will be prohibited to use as a cleaning solvent essentially in the electronic industry. Therefore, the development of the alternative cleaning solvents to CFC 113 is being accelerated. A number of the alternative cleaning solvents are avialable on the market. The alternatives of Axarel 32(DuPont), Cleanthru 750H(KAO Chemical), and EC-Ultra(Petroferm) are chosen for the comparison of cleaning performance with CFC 113. The test methods for measuring the cleaning performance were composed of the measurement of the physical properties, the experiments on the material compatibility with cleaning solvents, the measurement of the evaporation rate, and finally the experiments of the removal efficiency. Normally the basic physical properties of the alternatives had higher boiling points, viscosity and surface tension, which were quite different to those of CFC 113. In terms of solubility of rosin-based flux, the solubilities of abietic acid (nonpolar organic) were similar, but those of the activator (polar organic) in the alternatives were better than CFC 113. The evaporation of the alternatives was very slow, compared to CFC 113, which had much lower boiling point. All the cleaning solvents showed the good material compatibility with FR4 and Cu-coated PCB. The better removal efficiencies of abietic acid were obtained when using the ultrasonic mechanical energy over the dipping method. The experiments also indicated the very slow-eavaporating solvent was not desirable with the dipping cleaning method, and the differences in the removal efficiency of the alternatives with the ultrasonic cleaning method were negligible. Among the alternatives, the overall cleaning performances were obsorved as almost similar. Before selecting the ultimate cleaning solvent, the application of cleaning machine, environmental issues, and economics are simultaneously considered with the cleaning performance.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.694-699
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• 2008

Considering the severe regulation associated with sludge treatment such as direct landfill and ocean dumping, there is no doubt in that an advanced study for the proper treatment of sludge is urgently needed in near feature. As one of viable method for sludge treatment, fry-drying of sludge by waste oil has been investigated in this study. The fundamental mechanism of this drying method lies in the phenomenon of rapid moisture escape in the sludge pore toward oil media. This is caused by the severe pressure gradient formed by the rapid oil heating between sludge and oil. As part of research effort of fry-drying using waste oil, a series of basic study has been made experimentally to obtain typical drying curves as function of important parameters such as drying temperature, drying time, oil type and geometrical shape of sludge formed. Based on this study, a number of useful conclusion can be drawn as following. The fry-drying method by oil immersion was found quite effective in the removal efficiency of sludge moisture, in general, the moisture content decreases significantly after 10 minutes and the whole moisture content was less than 5% after 14 minutes regardless of the drying temperature. The increase of oil temperature up to 140$^{\circ}C$ favors significantly for the removal of moisture but there was no visible difference above 140$^{\circ}C$. As expected, the decrease of diameter in sludge was efficient in drying due to the increased surface area per unit volume. Further, the effect of oil property by the change of oil type was noted. To be specific, for the case of engine oil the efficiency was found to be remarkably delayed in moisture evaporation compared with that of vegetable oil due to the increased viscosity of engine oil. It produced a result of increasing the evaporation of moisture largely relatively high in the drying temperature over 140$^{\circ}C$ compared with the drying temperature 120$^{\circ}C$ drying temperature as the drying time passed. Accordingly, the drying temperature is considered desirable as keeping over 140$^{\circ}C$ regardless of a sort of used oil.