• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.63-67
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• 2017

Aluminum oxide ($Al_2O_3$) film deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is known to supply excellent surface passivation properties on crystalline Si surface. The quality of passivation layer is important for high-efficiency silicon solar cell. double-layer structures have many advantages over single-layer materials. $Al_2O_3/SiN_X$ passivation stacks have been widely adopted for high- efficiency silicon solar cells. The first layer, $Al_2O_3$, passivates the surface, while $SiN_X$ acts as a hydrogen source that saturates silicon dangling bonds during annealing treatment. We explored the properties on passivation film of $Al_2O_3/SiN_X$ stack layer with changing the conditions. For the post annealing temperature, it was found that $500^{\circ}C$ is the most suitable temperature to improvement surface passivation.

• 한국결정성장학회지
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.41-45
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• 2014

다양한 공정 조건으로 $SiN_x$와 $SiO_2$ 박막을 형성하고 이에 대한 패시베이션 특성에 대한 연구를 수행하였다. Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition(PECVD)을 이용하여 증착된 $SiN_x$ 박막의 경우, 증착 두께가 증가함에 따라 페시베이션 특성이 향상되는 것을 관찰하였다. 이는 PECVD 증착 공정 중 유입되는 수소 원자들이 실리콘 표면에 존재하는 Dangling bond와 결합하여 소수 캐리어의 재결합 현상을 효과적으로 감소시켰기 때문이다. 건식 산화법으로 형성된 $SiO_2$ 박막은 습식 산화법으로 형성된 것 보다 치밀한 계면 구조를 가짐으로 인하여 약 20배 이상 우수한 패시베이션 특성을 나타내었다. 건식 산화 공정 온도가 증가함에 따라 패시베이션 특성이 열화되는 현상이 발생하였고, Capacitance-voltage(C-V) 및 Conductance-voltage(G-V) 분석을 통하여 $SiO_2$/실리콘 계면에 존재하는 계면 결함 밀도 증가에 의해 나타나는 현상임을 알 수 있었다.

• The Korean Journal of Ceramics
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• 제3권2호
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• pp.92-95
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• 1997

Because of the novel characteristics such as chemical stability, hardness, electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity, diamond-like carbon (DLC) film is a suitable material for the passivation layers. For this purpose, using the PECVD, DLC films were synthesized at room temperature. The adhesion and the hardness of the DLC films deposited on Si an SiO2 substrate were measured. The resistivity of 5.3$\times$$10^8$$\Omega$.cm was measured by automatic spreading resistance probe analysis method. The thermal conductivities of different DLC films were measured and compared with that of phospho silicate glass (PSG) film which is commonly used as passivation layers. The thermal conductivity of DLC film was improved by increasing hydrogen flow rate up to 90 sccm and was better than that of PSG film. The patterning techniques of the DLC film developed using the RIE and the lift-off method to form 5$\mu\textrm{m}$ line. Finally, the thermal characteristics of the power transistor with the DLC film as passiviation layer was analyzed.

• 한국수소및신에너지학회논문집
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.1-8
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• 2009

Hydrogen production by the reaction of aluminum alloys and NaOH solution was studied for an automotive proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) application. In our experiment conditions($30{\sim}75^{\circ}C$, NaOH $0.5{\sim}5M$), passivation of aluminum was not occurred. Higher rate of hydrogen production was observed at the reaction with Al alloys that contain impurities. With an increase in reaction temperature, hydrogen production rate by an increase in NaOH concentration increased much. When hydrogen was fed into the anode without filtering, PEMFC cell performance decreased 35% by ionic contamination such as $Na^+$ on the membrane and electrode. Thus, filtering of produced hydrogen is necessary for PEMFC operation.

• 한국전기전자재료학회논문지
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• 제30권5호
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• pp.276-283
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• 2017

A polysilicon-based metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector was fabricated by means of our new methods. Its photoresponse characteristics were analyzed to see if it could be applied to a sensor system. The processes on which this study focused were an alloy-annealing process to form metal-polysilicon contacts, a post-annealing process for better light absorption of as-deposited polysilicon, and a passivation process for lowering defect density in polysilicon. When the alloy annealing was achieved at about $400^{\circ}C$, metal-polysilicon Schottky contacts sustained a stable potential barrier, decreasing the dark current. For better surface morphology of polysilicon, rapid thermal annealing (RTA) or furnace annealing at around $900^{\circ}C$ was suitable as a post-annealing process, because it supplied polysilicon layers with a smoother surface and a proper grain size for photon absorption. For the passivation of defects in polysilicon, hydrogen-ion implantation was chosen, because it is easy to implant hydrogen into the polysilicon. MSM photodetectors based on the suggested processes showed a higher sensitivity for photocurrent detection and a stable Schottky contact barrier to lower the dark current and are therefore applicable to sensor systems.

• 한국전기전자재료학회논문지
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• 제36권1호
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• pp.16-22
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• 2023

In a solar cell, degradation refers to the decrease in performance parameters caused by defects originated due to various causes. During the fabrication process of solar cells, degradation is generally related to the processes such as passivation or firing. There exist sources of many types of degradation; however, the exact cause of Light and elevated Temperature Induced Degradation (LeTID) is yet to be determined. It is reported that the degradation and the regeneration occur due to the recombination of hydrogen and an arbitrary substance. In this paper, we report the deposition of Al₂O₃ and SiN_X on silicon wafers used in the Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact (PERC) solar structure and its degradation pattern. A higher degradation rate was observed in the sample with single layer of Al₂O₃ only, which indicates that the degradation is affected by the presence or the absence of a passivation thin film. In order to alleviate the degradation, optimization of different steps should be carried out in consideration of degradation in the solar cell fabrication process.

• 한국세라믹학회지
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• 제51권3호
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• pp.197-200
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• 2014

We investigated the influence of blistering on $Al_2O_3$/SiON stacks and $Al_2O_3$/SiNx:H stacks passivation layers. $Al_2O_3$ film provides outstanding Si surface passivation quality. $Al_2O_3$ film as the rear passivation layer of a p-type Si solar cell is usually stacked with a capping layer, such as $SiO_2$, SiNx, and SiON films. These capping layers protect the thin $Al_2O_3$ layer from an Al electrode during the annealing process. We compared $Al_2O_3$/SiON stacks and $Al_2O_3$/SiNx:H stacks through surface morphology and minority carrier lifetime after annealing processes at $450^{\circ}C$ and $850^{\circ}C$. As a result, the $Al_2O_3$/SiON stacks were observed to produce less blister phenomenon than $Al_2O_3$/SiNx:H stacks. This can be explained by the differences in the H species content. In the process of depositing SiNx film, the rich H species in $NH_3$ source are diffused to the $Al_2O_3$ film. On the other hand, less hydrogen diffusion occurs in SiON film as it contains less H species than SiNx film. This blister phenomenon leads to an increase insurface defect density. Consequently, the $Al_2O_3$/SiON stacks had a higher minority carrier lifetime than the $Al_2O_3$/SiNx:H stacks.

• 한국수소및신에너지학회논문집
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• 제4권2호
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• pp.29-40
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• 1993

Intensive studies on the electrochemical characteristics of TiFe type alloy electrodes have been carried out to clarify the mechanism of electrochemical hydrogen absorption and desorption. It was found that electrochemical activation of the TiFe type alloys is difficult and that charge efficiencies are very low even after a decade of activation cycles. However, by the pretreatment of the powders such as gas activation and/or Ni chemical plating, charge efficiencies fairly increased, especially for the $TiFe_{0.8}Ni_{0.2}$ alloy. It was considered that difficulties to activation and lower charge efficies of the alloys are due to the presence of the passivation films, which prohibit inward diffusion of hydrogen and promote the combination of adsorbed hydrogen atom to gas bubbles during the electrochemical charge. In addition, lower diffusivity of hydrogen in the alloys may be played an important role lowering the charge efficiencies.

• 한국표면공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국표면공학회 2018년도 춘계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.56-56
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• 2018

Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) have attracted attention due to their high electrical conductivity and optical transparency in the visible region. Consequently, TCOs have been widely used as electrode materials in various electronic devices such as flat panel displays and solar cells. Previous studies on TCOs focused on their electrical and optical performances; there have been numerous attempts to improve these properties, such as chemical doping and crystallinity enhancement. Recently, due to rapidly increasing demand for flexible electronics, the academic interest in the mechanical stability of materials has come to the fore as a major issue. In particular, long-term stability under bending is a crucial requirement for flexible electrodes; however, research on this feature is still in the nascent stage. Hydrogen-incorporated amorphous In-Sn-O (a-ITO) thin films were fabricated by introducing hydrogen gas during deposition. The hydrogen concentration in the film was determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry and was found to vary from $4.7{\times}10^{20}$ to $8.1{\times}10^{20}cm^{-3}$ with increasing $H_2$ flow rate. The mechanical stability of the a-ITO thin films dramatically improved because of hydrogen incorporation, without any observable degradation in their electrical or optical properties. With increasing hydrogen concentration, the compressive residual stress gradually decreased and the subgap absorption at around 3.1 eV was suppressed. Considering that the residual stress and subgap absorption mainly originated from defects, hydrogen may be a promising candidate for defect passivation in flexible electronics.

• 대한화학회지
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• 제58권5호
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• pp.437-444
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• 2014

변전위법과 전기화학적 임피던스측정법(electrochemical impedence spectroscopy)을 이용하여 borate 완충용액에서 Co-RDE의 전기화학적 부식과 부동화에 대하여 조사하였다. Tafel 기울기, 코발트 회전원판전극의 회전속도, 임피던스 그리고 부식전위와 부식전류의 pH 의존성으로부터 코발트의 부식과 부동화 반응 메커니즘과 환원반응에서의 수소 발생 반응구조를 제안하였다. EIS data로부터 등가회로를 제안하였으며 산화반응의 영역별로 전기화학적 변수들을 측정하였다. 부식전위에서 측정된 Nyquist plot의 induction loop가 낮은 주파수 영역에서 관측되는 것으로 보아 흡착/탈착 현상이 Co의 부식과정에 영향을 미치는 것으로 보인다.