• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.12-17
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• 2019

In this study, the Ag nano-dots structure and silicon nitride film were applied to the textured wafer surface to improve the light trapping effect of mono-crystalline silicon solar cell. Ag nano-dots structure was formed by performing a heat treatment for 30 minutes at 650℃ after the deposition of 10nm Ag thin film. Ag thin film deposition was performed using a thermal evaporator. The silicon nitride film was deposited by a Hot-wire chemical vapor deposition. The effect of light trapping was compared and analyzed through light reflectance measurements. Experimental results showed that the reflectivity increased by 0.5 ~ 1% under all nitride thickness conditions when Ag nano-dots structure was formed before nitride film deposition. In addition, when the Ag nano-dots structure is formed after deposition of the silicon nitride film, the reflectance is increased in the nitride film condition of 70 nm or more. When the HF treatment was performed for 60 seconds to improve the Ag nano-dot structure, the overall reflectance was improved, and the reflectance was 0.15% lower than that of the silicon nitride film-only sample at 90 nm silicon nitride film condition.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.77.2-77.2
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• 2015

Recently, metamaterials attracted much attention because of the potential applications for superlens, cloaking and high precision sensors. We developed several dielectric metamaterials for enhancing antireflection or light trapping capability in solar energy harvesting devices. Colloidal lithography and electrochemical anodization process were employed to fabricate self-assembed nano- and microscale dielectric metamaterials in a simple and cost-effective manner. We improved broadband light absorption in c-Si, a-Si, and organic semiconductor layer by employing polystyrene (PS) islands integrated Si conical-frustum arrays, resonant PS nanosphere arrays, and diffusive alumina nanowire arrays, respectively. We also demonstrated thin metal coated alumina nanowire array which is utilized as an efficient light-to-heat conversion layer of solar steam generating devices. The scalable design and adaptable fabrication route to our light management nanostructures will be promising in applications of solar energy harvesting system. On the other hands, broadband invisible cloaks, which continuously work while elastically deforming, are developed using smart metamaterials made of photonic and elastic crystals. A self-adjustable, nearly lossless, and broadband (10-12GHz) smart meatamaterials have great potentials for applications in antenna system and military stealth technology.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.147.2-148
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• 2016

Light management technology is very important for thin film solar cells, which can reduce optical reflection from the surface of thin film solar cells or enhance optical path, increasing the absorption of the incident solar light. Using proper light trapping structures in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells, the thickness of absorber layers can be reduced. Instead, the internal electric field in the absorber can be strengthened, which helps to collect photon generated carriers very effectively and to reduce light-induced loss under long-term light exposure. In this work, we introduced a chemical etching technology to make honey-comb textures on glass substrates and analyzed the optical properties for the textured surface such as transmission, reflection and scattering effects. Using ray optics and finite difference time domain method (FDTD) we represented the behaviors of light waves near the etched surfaces of the glass substrates and discussed to obtain haze parameters for the different honey-comb structures. The simulation results showed that high haze values were maintained up to the long wavelength range over 700 nm, and with the proper design of the honey-comb structure, reflection or transmission of the glass substrates can be enhanced, which will be very useful for the multi-junction (tandem or triple junction) thin film a-Si:H solar cells.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.116-122
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• 2013

For fabricating silicon solar cells with high conversion efficiency, texturing is one of the most effective techniques to increase short circuit current by enhancing light trapping. In this study, four different types of textures, large V-groove, large U-groove, small V-groove, and small U-groove, were prepared by a wet etching process. Silicon substrates with V-grooves were fabricated by an anisotropic etching process using a KOH solution mixed with isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and the size of the V-grooves was controlled by varying the concentration of IPA. The isotropic etching process following anisotropic etching resulted in U-grooves and the isotropic etching time was determined to obtain U-grooves with an opening angle of approximately $60^{\circ}$. The results indicated that U-grooves had a larger diffuse reflectance than V-grooves and the reflectances of small grooves was slightly higher than those of large grooves depending on the size of the grooves. Then amorphous Si:H thin film solar cells were fabricated on textured substrates to investigate the light trapping effect of textures with different shapes and sizes. Among the textures fabricated in this work, the solar cells on the substrate with small U-grooves had the largest short circuit current, 19.20 mA/$cm^2$. External quantum efficiency data also demonstrated that the small, U-shape textures are more effective for light trapping than large, V-shape textures.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.75-82
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• 2017

High efficiency thin film solar cells require an absorber layer with high absorption and low defect, a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) film with high transmittance of over 80% and a high conductivity. Furthermore, light can be captured through the glass substrate and sent to the light absorbing layer to improve the efficiency. In this paper, morphology formation on the surface of glass substrate was investigated by using HF, mainly classified as random etching and periodic etching. We discussed about the etch mechanism, etch rate and hard mask materials, and periodic light trapping structure.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.519-525
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• 2012

Enhancement of light trapping in solar cells is becoming increasingly urgent for the development of next generation thin film solar cells. One of the possible candidates for increasing light trapping in thin film solar cells that has emerged recently is the use of scattering from metallic nanostructures. In this study, we have investigated the effects of the geometric parameters of Ag nanorings on the light scattering efficiency by using three dimensional Finite Different Time Domain (FDTD) calculations. We have found that the forward scattering of incident radiation from Ag nanorings strongly depends on the geometric parameters of the nanostructures such as diameter, height, etc. The forward scattering to substrate direction is increased as the outer diameter and height of the nanorings decrease. In particular, for nanorings larger than 200 nm, the inner diameter of Ag nanorings should be optimized to enhance the forward scattering efficiency. Light absorption and scattering efficiency calculations for the various nanoring arrays revealed that the periodicity of nanorings arrays also plays an important role in the absorption and the scattering efficiency enhancement. Light scattering efficiency calculations for nanoring arrays also revealed that enhancement of scattering efficiency could be utilized to enhance the light absorption through the forward scattering mechanism.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.46.2-46.2
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• 2010

For use of superstrate thin-film solar cells, surface texture of the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) has been used to enhance short-circuit currents by increasing light trapping into the cell. ZnO:Al films were deposited by using DC magnetron sputtering on glass substrates with ceramic (ZnO:$Al_2O_3$) target. The as-deposited TCO before texturing exhibited high transparencies (T > 85% for visible light including all reflection losses) and excellent electrical properties ($r=3-6{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}.cm$). The optical and electrical properties of the TCO are influenced by the texturing conditions such as not only etchant dilutions but also etching time. We obtained the haze value of 14-16 resulting in increase in light trapping and short-circuit currents also.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.07a
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• pp.1047-1052
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• 2003

Controlling carrier transport in light emitting polymers is extremely important for their efficient use in organic opto-electronic devices [1]. Here we show that the interactions between single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and conjugated polymers can be used to modify the overall mobility of charge carriers within nanotube-polymer nanocomposites. By using a unique, double emitting-organic light emitting diodes (DE-OLEDs) structure. we have characterized the hole transport within electroluminescent nanocomposites (nanotubes in poly (m-phenylene vinylene-co-2,5-dioctoxy-p-phenylene) or PmPV). We have shown using this idea that single devices with color tunability can be fabricated. It is seen that SWNTs in PmPV are responsible for hole trapping, leading to shifts in the emission wavelengths. Our results could lead to improved organic optical amplifiers, semiconducting devices, and displays.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.430.2-430.2
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• 2016

The front transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films in thin fill solar cell should exhibit high transparency, conductivity, good surface morphology and excellent light scattering properties. The light trapping phenomenon is limited due to random surface structure of TCO films. The proper control of surface structure and uniform cauliflower TCO films may be appropriate for efficient light trapping. We report light trapping scheme of ICP-RIE glass texturing by SF6/Ar plasma for high roughness and haze ratio of ITO films. It was observed that the variation of etching time, pattern size and Ar flow ratio during ICP-RIE process were important factors to improve the diffused transmittance and haze ratio of textured glass. The ICP-RIE textured glass showed low etching rates due to the presence of metal elements like Al, B, F and Na. The ITO films deposited on textured glass substrates showed the high RMS roughness and haze ratio in the visible wavelength region. The change in surface morphology showed negligible influence on electrical and structural properties of ITO films. The ITO films with high roughness and haze ratio can be used to improve the performance of thin film solar cells.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.192-195
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• 2005

The silicon thin film solar cells were fabricated by 13.56 MHz PECVD (Plasma-Enhanced Chemical-Vapor Deposition) and 60 MHz VHF PECVD (Very High-Frequency Plasma-Enhanced Chemical-Vapor Deposition). We focus on textured ZnO:Al films prepared by RF sputtering and post deposition wet chemical etching and studied the surface morphology and optical properties. These films were optimized the light scattering properties of the textured ZnO:Al after wet chemical etching. Finally, the textured ZnO:Al films were successfully applied as substrates for silicon thin films solar cells. The efficiency of tandem solar cells with $0.25 cm^2$ area was $11.8\%$ under $100mW/cm^2$ light intensity. The electrical properties of tandem solar cells were measured with solar simulator (AM 1.5, $100 mW/cm^2)$ and spectral response measurements.