• Applied Science and Convergence Technology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.145-150
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• 2014

MgO thin films were deposited by internal ICP-assisted reactive-magnetron sputtering with bipolar pulse bias on a substrate to suppress random arcs. Mg is reactively sputtered by a bipolar pulsed DC power of 100 kHz into ICP generated by a dielectrically shielded internal antenna. At a mass flow ratio of $Ar/O_2$ = 10 : 2 and an ICP/sputter power ratio of 1 : 1, optimal film properties were obtained (a powder-like crystal orientation distribution and a RMS surface roughness of approximately 0.42 nm). A bipolar pulse substrate bias at a proper frequency (~a few kHz) prevented random arc events. The crystalline preferred orientations varied between the (111), (200) and (220) orientations. By optimizing the plasma conditions, films having similar bulk crystallinity characteristics (JCPDS data) were successfully obtained.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.169-174
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• 2004

MgO thin films were reactively deposited using an internal inductively coupled plasma assisted sputtering method varying reactive gas ratio to get stoichiometric film composition, and bipolar dc substrate bias to suppress micro arcs. The minimum frequency required for arc suppression was about 10KHz depending on ICP power. Their crystallinity was analyzed using X-ray diffraction and surface morphology using AFM. The surface was very smooth with rms roughness less than 0.42nm. The preferred orientation of the films were changing from (200) to bulk-like characteristics as Ar: $O_2$ratio was controlled to 10 : 2. Optical emission spectroscopy revealed that there were two distinct discharge modes: a blue one and a green one, where enhanced emission from Ar and Mg were observed. This cannot simply be understood by metallic or oxide mode of reactive sputtering due to ICP coupled to magnetron discharge.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.211-211
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• 2012

The electrical loss of the photo-generated carriers is dominated by the recombination at the metal- semiconductor interface. In order to enhance the performance of the solar cells, many studies have been performed on the surface treatment with passivation layer like SiN, SiO2, Al2O3, and a-Si:H. In this work, Al2O3 thin films were investigated to reduce recombination at surface. The Al2O3 thin films have two advantages, such as good passivation properties and back surface field (BSF) effect at rear surface. It is usually deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. However, ALD process is a very expensive process and it has rather low deposition rate. In this study, the ICP-assisted reactive magnetron sputtering method was used to deposit Al2O3 thin films. For optimization of the properties of the Al2O3 thin film, various fabrication conditions were controlled, such as ICP RF power, substrate bias voltage and deposition temperature, and argon to oxygen ratio. Chemical states and atomic concentration ratio were analyzed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In order to investigate the electrical properties, Al/(Al2O3 or SiO2,/Al2O3)/Si (MIS) devices were fabricated and characterized using the C-V measurement technique (HP 4284A). The detailed characteristics of the Al2O3 passivation thin films manufactured by ICP-assisted reactive magnetron sputtering technique will be shown and discussed.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.206-211
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• 2012

Process analysis was carried out during deposition of MgO by inductively coupled plasma assisted reactive magnetron sputtering in Ar and $O_2$ ambient. At the initiation of Mg sputtering with bipolar pulsed dc power in Ar ambient, total pressure showed sharp increase and then slow fall. To analyse partial pressure change, QMS was used in downstream region, where the total pressure was maintained as low as $10^{-5}$ Torr during plasma processing, good for ion source and quadrupole operation. At base pressure, the major impurity was $H_2O$ and the second major impurity was $CO/N_2$ about 10%. During sputtering of Mg in Ar, $H_2$ soared up to 10.7% of Ar and remained as the major impurity during all the later process time. When $O_2$ was mixed with Ar, the partial pressure of Ar decreased in proportion to $O_2$ flow rate and that of $H_2$ dropped down to 2%. It was understood as Mg target surface was oxidized to stop $H_2$ emission by Ar ion sputtering. With ICP turned on, the major impurity $H_2$ was converted into $H_2O$ consuming $O_2$ and C was also oxidized to evolve CO and $CO_2$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.430-430
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• 2012

The surface recombination velocity of the silicon solar cell could be reduced by passivation with insulating layers such as $SiO_2$, SiNx, $Al_2O_3$, a-Si. Especially, the aluminium oxide has advantages over other materials at rear surface, because negative fixed charge via Al vacancy has an additional back surface field effect (BSF). It can increase the lifetime of the hole carrier in p-type silicon. The aluminium oxide thin film layer is usually deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique, which is expensive and has low deposition rate. In this study, ICP-assisted reactive magnetron sputtering technique was adopted to overcome drawbacks of ALD technique. In addition, it has been known that by annealing aluminium oxide layer in nitrogen atmosphere, the negative fixed charge effect could be further improved. By using ICP-assisted reactive magnetron sputtering technique, oxygen to nitrogen ratio could be precisely controlled. Fabricated aluminium oxy-nitride (AlON) layer on silicon wafers were analyzed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to investigate the atomic concentration ratio and chemical states. The electrical properties of Al/($Al_2O_3$ or $SiO_2/Al_2O_3$)/Si (MIS) devices were characterized by the C-V measurement technique using HP 4284A. The detailed characteristics of the AlON passivation layer will be shown and discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.353.1-353.1
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• 2016

다공성 물질은 동공의 크기에 따라 미세동공(Micropore), 메조동공(Mesopore), 거대동공(Macropore)으로 나누어 분류한다. 다공성 재료의 장점은 높은 비표면적으로써, 촉매, 센서, 연료전지 전극, 에너지 저장장치 등으로의 이용 가능성을 보여주는 연구가 활발히 보고되고 있다. 종래의 연구는 두 가지 이상의 원소로 구성된 박막을 제작한 후 전기화학적 분해법, 선택적 용해법 등 습식공정을 통해 다공성 구조체를 제작하였다. 하지만 본 연구에서는 Au, Ag 타겟과 $CH_4$ gas를 이용해 ICP-assisted reactive magnetron sputtering 장비를 활용하여 450 nm 두께의 Au-C, Ag-C 박막을 제작하였다. 이후 연속적으로 RF 250 W를 ICP antenna 에 인가하여 $O_2$ plasma dealloying 공정을 통해 탄소(Carbon) 만을 선택적으로 제거함으로써, 건식 공정만으로 Si wafer ($10{\times}10mm^2$) 기판 위에 250 ~ 300 nm 두께의 다공성 Au, Ag 박막을 제작하였다. SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy)를 활용하여 표면, 단면 형상을 관찰해 다공성 구조를 확인하였으며, AES (Auger Electron Spectroscopy)를 통해 plasma dealloying 전 후 박막의 조성변화를 관찰하였다. 따라서 plasma dealloying 공정으로 제작된 다공성 Au, Ag 박막은 기존의 습식 공정 대비 청결하고 신속한 공정이 가능하며 높은 재현성을 통해 위의 적용분야에 보다 쉽게 사용될 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.168-168
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• 2013

도전성 섬유(Conductive textile)는 섬유자체의 고유 특성을 유지하면서 전기적인 도전 특성을 갖는 섬유로서, Cu, Ag, Ni 등의 전기전도성이 높은 금속 박막을 증착하여 제작하고 있다. 그러나, 이러한 금속은 공기 중의 산소와 결합하여 쉽게 산화되는 특성을 지니고 있기 때문에 사용 중에 산화되어 도전 특성이 감소하는 단점이 있다. TiN은 금속 못지않은 높은 전기전도성을 지니고 있을 뿐만 아니라, 금속에 비하여 높은 경도에 따른 우수한 내마모 특성, 내부식성 및 낮은 마찰계수를 지니고 있다. 그러나, TiN은 경도가 높기 때문에 섬유의 고유 특성인 유연성이 저하되는 문제가 있다. 본 연구에서는 면(Cotton), PE (Polyester), PP (Polypropylene) 등의 섬유 위에 TiN 박막을 증착하여, 섬유의 유연성을 유지하며 전기전도성과 내마모 특성이 우수한 도전성 섬유를 제작하고자 하였다. TiN 박막 증착을 위하여 ICP-assisted pulsed-DC reactive magnetron sputtering 장비를 사용하였으며, Ar:N2 유량비(Flow rate), Ti 타겟 power, ICP RF power 등을 변화시켜 Ti와 N의 조성비를 조절하였고, 이를 통하여 섬유의 휨이나 접힘에도 도전 특성이 변하지 않고 내마모 특성이 우수한 TiN 박막을 증착하였다. TiN 박막이 증착된 섬유의 전기전도도는 일정한 압력 하에 전기전도도를 측정할 수 있는 장치를 제작하여 측정하였으며, 표면 조성 분포 및 접합력 측정을 위하여 XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy)와 Peel-tester를 이용하였다.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.187-191
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• 2013

Niobium nitride (NbN) films were deposited on AISI 304 stainless steels by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) assisted dc magnetron sputtering method at different ICP powers, and the effects of ICP power on the phase formation, mechanical and chemical properties of the films were investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were used to analyze the crystal structure and micro-knoop hardness was used to measure the hardness of the films. Also, 3-D mechanical profiler and a ball-on-disk wear tester were used to measure the thickness of the films and to estimate wear characteristics, respectively. The thickness of the films decreased but their hardness increased with increasing ICP power, and it was confirmed that only cubic ${\delta}$-NbN(200) remained at high ICP power. At lower ICP powers, a mixture of the hexagonal ${\delta}^{\prime}$-NbN and cubic ${\delta}$-NbN phases was obtained in the films and the hardness decreased. The corrosion potential value increased gradually with increasing ICP power, but the changes of ICP power did not significantly influence the overall corrosion resistance.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.73-78
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• 2005

A real-time monitoring of ICP(inductively coupled plasma) assisted magnetron sputtering of MgO was carried out using a QMS(quadrupole mass spectrometer), an OES(optical emission spectrometer), and a digital oscilloscope with a high voltage probe and a current monitor. At the time of ICP ignition, the most distinct impurity was OH emission (308.9 nm) which was dissociated from water molecules. For reactive deposition oxygen was added to Ar and the OH emission intensity was reduced abruptly When the discharge voltage was regulated by a PID controller from 240V(metallic mode) to 120V(oxide mode), the emission intensity from Mg (285.2 nm) changed proportionally to the discharge voltage, but the intensity of Ar I(811.6 nm) was constant. At 100V of discharge voltage, Mg sputtering was almost stopped. Emissions from Ar I(420.1 nm) and Mg I were dropped down to 1/10, but Ar I(811.6 nm) didn't change. And the emission from atomic oxygen (O I, 777.3 nm) was increased to 10 times. These results are compatible with those from QMS study.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.98-104
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• 2006

Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films were deposited on the plastic substrate by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) assisted DC magnetron sputtering. The AZO films were produced by sputtering a metallic target (Zn/Al) in a mixture of argon and oxygen gases. AZO films with an electrical resistivity of ${\sim}10^3\;{\Omega}cm$ and an optical transmittance of 80% were obtained even at a low deposition temperature. In-situ process control methods were used to obtain stable deposition conditions in the transition region without any hysteresis effect. The target voltage was controlled either at a constant DC power. It was found that the ratio of the zinc to oxygen emission intensity, I (O 777)/I (Zn 481) decreased with increasing the target voltage in the transition region. The $Ar/O_2$ plasma treatment improve the adhesion strength between the polycarbonate substrate and AZO films.