• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.305-305
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• 2010

It is known that a pulse of electrons of high kinetic energy (1-3 eV) in metals can be generated with the deposition of external energy to the surface such as in the absorption of light or in exothermic chemical processes. These energetic electrons are not in thermal equilibrium with the metal atoms and are called "hot electrons" The concept of photon energy conversion to hot electron flow was suggested by Eric McFarland and Tang who directly measured the photocurrent on gold thin film of metal-semiconductor ($TiO_2$) Schottky diodes [1]. In order to utilize this scheme, we have fabricated metal-semiconductor Schottky diodes that are made of Pt or Au as a metallic layer, Si or $TiO_2$ as a semiconducting substrate. The Pt/$TiO_2$ and Pt/Si Schottky diodes are made by PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) for $SiO_2$, magnetron sputtering process for $TiO_2$, e-beam evaporation for metallic layers. Metal shadow mask is made for device alignment in device fabrication process. We measured photocurrent on Pt/n-Si diodes under AM1.5G. The incident photon to current conversion efficiency (IPCE) at different wavelengths was measured on the diodes. We also show that the steady-state flow of hot electrons generated from photon absorption can be directly probed with $Pt/TiO_2$ Schottky diodes [2]. We will discuss possible approaches to improve the efficiency of photon energy conversion.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.116-116
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• 2009

$TiO_2$ pastes was synthesized to obtained of high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells using size dependent co-polymer. SBM co-polymer binder is consist of styrene, n-butyl acrylate, and methacrylic acid (SBM) monodisperse co-polymer binder materials and this $TiO_2$ pastes were applied of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The photoanodes were characterized by ATR-Fourier Transform spectrometer, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and morphology was investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The photoelectrochemical properties of the thin films and the performance of DSSCs were measured by photovoltaic-current density, AC impedance and monochromatic incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE). DSSC based on the 100nm size co-polymer binder was obtained conversion efficiency of 8.1% under irradiation of AM 1.5(100 $mWcm^2$).

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.310.1-310.1
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• 2013

We show the novel hot electron based-solar energy conversion using tandem structured Schottky diode with double Schottky barriers. In this report, we show the effect of the double Schottky barriers on solar cell performance by enhancing both of internal photoemission and band-to-band excitation. The tandem structured Au/Si diode capped with TiO2 layer as second semiconductor exhibited improved ability for light harvesting. The proposed mechanisms consist of multiple reflections of hot electrons and additional pathway of solar energy conversion due to presence of multiple interfaces between thin gold film and semiconductors. Short-circuit photocurrent measured on the tandem structured Au/Si diodes under illumination of AM1.5 increased by approximately 70% from 3.1% to 5.3% and overall incident photon to electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) was enhanced in visible light, revealing that the concept of the double Schottky barriers have significant potential as novel strategy for light harvesting.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.89-92
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• 2004

For improving solar efficiencies, down conversion of high-energy photons to visible lights is discussed. The losses due to thermalization of charge carriers generated by the absorption of high-energy photons, can largely be reduced in a solar cell if more than one electron-hole pair can be generated per incident photon. The solar cell was constructed of dye-sensitized anatase-based TiO$_2$, approximately 30nm particle size, 6$\mu\textrm{m}$thickness, and 6${\times}$6$\textrm{mm}^2$ active area, Pt counter electrode and I$_3$$\^$-/I$_2$$\^$-/ electrolyte. After correction for losses due to light reflection and absorption by the conducting glass, the conversion of photons to electric current is practically quantitative in the plateau region of the curves. The incident photon to current conversion efficiency(IPCE) of N3 used as a dye in this work is about 80% at around 590nm and 610nm which is the emission spectrum of Eu doped LGF. The Eu doped LGF powder was prepared by conventional ceramic process, and used as a down converter for DSC after spin coated on the slide glass and fired.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.225-225
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• 2013

Nanostructured noble metals have been attractive for their unusual optical properties and are widely utilized for various purposes. The optical properties mainly originating from collective electron oscillation can assist direct energy conversion via surface plasmon resonances. Here, we investigated the effect of surface plasmons of silver nanowires on the generation of hot electrons. It is reported that the surface plasmons of silver nanowires exhibit longitudinal and transverse modes, depending on the aspect ratio of the nanowires. In order to measure the hot electron flow through the metallic nanowires, chemically modified Au/TiO2 Schottky diodes were employed as the electric contact. The silver nanowires were deposited on a Au metal layer via the spray method to control uniformity and the amount of silver nanowire deposited. We measured the hot electron flow generated by photon absorption on the silver nanowires deposited on the Au/TiO2 Schottky diodes. The incident photon-to-current efficiency was measured a function of the photon energy, revealing two polarization modes of siliver nanowires: transverse and longitudinal modes. UV-Vis spectra exhibited two polarization modes, which are also consistent with the photocurrent measurements. Good correlation between the IPCE and UV-vis measurements suggests that hot electron measurement on nanowires on nanodiodes is a useful way to reveal the intrinsic properties of surface plasmons of nanowires.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.228-231
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• 2006

This paper briefly introduces silicon based thin film solar cells: amorphous (a-Si:H), microcrystalline ${\mu}c-Si:H$ single junction and $a-Si:H/{\mu}c-Si:H$ tandem solar cells. The major difference of a-Si:H and ${\mu}c-Si:H$ cells comes from electro-optical properties of intrinsic Si-films (active layer) that absorb incident photon and generate electron-hole pairs. The a-Si:H film has energy band-gap (Eg) of 1.7-1.8eV and solar cells incorporating this wide Eg a-Si:H material as active layer commonly give high voltage and low current, when illuminated, compared to ${\mu}c-Si:H$ solar cells that employ low Eg (1.1eV) material. This Eg difference of two materials make possible tandem configuration in order to effectively use incident photon energy. The $a-Si:H/{\mu}c-Si:H$ tandem solar cells, therefore, have a great potential for low cost photovoltaic device by its various advantages such as low material cost by thin-film structure on low cost substrate instead of expensive c-Si wafer and high conversion efficiency by tandem structure. In this paper, the structure, process and operation properties of Si-based thin-film solar cells are discussed.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.392-399
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• 2019

A highly transparent interfacial layer (HTIL) to enhance the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was prepared via a polymer-assisted (PA) approach. Poly(vinyl chloride)-graft-poly(oxyethylene methacrylate) (PVC-g-POEM) was synthesized via atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and was used as a sacrificial template. The PVC-g-POEM graft copolymer induced partial coordination of a hydrophilic titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) sol-gel solution with the POEM domain, resulting in microphase separation, and in turn, the generation of mesopores upon calcination. These phenomena were confirmed using Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, UV-visible light transmittance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The DSSCs incorporating HTIL60/20 (consisting of a top layer with a pore size of 60 nm and a bottom layer with a pore size of 20 nm) exhibited the best overall conversion efficiency (6.36%) among the tested samples, which was 25.9% higher than that of a conventional blocking layer (BL). DSSC was further characterized using the Nyquist plot and incident-photon to electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) spectra.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1047-1048
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• 2000

Dye-sensitized nanocrystalline rutile $TiO_2$ solar cells were prepared, and the influence of Li+ and 1,2-dimethyl-3-hexyl imidazolium ions in the electrolyte on the photovoltaic properties was compared. The electrolyte con-taining Li+ ions produced a lower open-circuit photovoltage than the electrolyte with 1,2-dimethyl-3-hexyl im-idazolium ions, suggesting that the adsorption of Li+ ions to the rutile $TiO_2$ surface causes a shift in the band edges toward more positive potentials. At the same time, both the short-circuit photocurrent and the maximum value of the incident-photon-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of the electrolyte containing Li+ ions were relatively higher. Data analysis suggests that presence of adsorbed Li+ ions improves via the phenomenon of band-edge movement the charge-injection efficiency by altering both the energy and number of excited state levels of the dye that participate in electron injection.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.137-146
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• 2023

Nanosized TiO₂ has been widely investigated in photoelectrochemical or photocatalytic applications due to their intrinsic properties such as suitable band position, high photocorrosion resistance, and surface area. In this study, to achieve the high efficiency in photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic performance, TiO₂ nanotubular structures were formed by anodization at various temperatures and times. The morphological and crystal structure of the anodized TiO₂ nanotubes (NTs) were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties and incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of the TiO₂ NTs were studied with different lengths and morphologies. From the detailed investigations, the optimum thickness of TiO₂ nanotubes was 3 ㎛. Moreover, we found that the optimum photocatalytic pollutant removal efficiency of TiO₂ nanotubes for photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under simulated solar light was 5.34 ㎛ of tube length.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.52-57
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• 2016

Nanoporous-layer-covered TiO₂ nanotube arrays (Type II TNTs) were fabricated by two-step electrochemical anodization. For comparison, conventional TiO₂ nanotube arrays (Type I TNTs) were also prepared by one-step electrochemical anodization. Types I and II TNTs were detached by selective etching and then transferred successfully to a transparent F-doped SnO₂ (FTO) substrate by a sol-gel process. Both FTO/Types I and II TNTs allowed front side illumination to exhibit incident photon-to-current efficiencies (IPCEs) in the long wavelength region of 300 to 750 nm without the absorption of light by the iodine-containing electrolyte. The Type II TNT exhibited longer electron lifetime and faster charge transfer than the Type I TNT because of its relatively fewer defect states. These beneficial effects lead to a high overall energy conversion efficiency (5.32 %) of the resulting dye-sensitized solar cell.