• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.12
• /
• pp.39-50
• /
• 2021

We investigate competition and its impact on borrowers' indebtedness (BI) in South Asian microfinance. Our empirical investigations are based on a comprehensive panel dataset of 355 MFIs located in seven countries in South Asia. The empirical results revealed that microfinance in South Asia is imperfectly competitive and the existing industry shows a monopolistic competition during the period under consideration. Also, the competition increased after the global financial crisis (GFC) in 2007-08 which implies that microfinance uses hostile lending behavior through the adverse selection that is highly risky and it can induce repayment crisis. The empirical findings also show that increased competition has significant negative effects on borrowers' indebtedness, particularly in large-scale and regulated microfinance organizations (MFIs). Instead of using equity financing, debt financing could be a better option. Finally, we find that while competition seems to have some positive effects in economic discourse by channeling technological improvements in products and services, its negative effects in microfinance outweigh the benefits over costs, particularly in poverty-stricken nations. The findings are helpful for the policymakers, microfinance industry, investors, borrowers, and Central Bank of South Asian markets.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.37 no.11
• /
• pp.1051-1057
• /
• 2000

TiO$_2$와 CeO$_2$박막을 Si 위에 증착한 후 MOCVD법에 의해 PbTiO$_3$박막을 증착하여 MFIS 구조를 형성하였다. 절연층의 후열처리가 절연층 및 MFIS 구조의 전기적 특성에 미치는 영향을 관찰하기 위해 산소분위기와 $600^{\circ}C$~90$0^{\circ}C$의 온도범위에서 후 열처리를 행하였고, C-V 특성 및 누설전류 특성을 분석하였다. CeO$_2$와 TiO$_2$박막의 유전상수는 증착 직후 6.9와 15였으며, 90$0^{\circ}C$ 열처리를 행한 후 약 4.9와 8.8로 감소하였다. 누설전류밀도 역시 증착 직후 각각 7$\times$$10^{-5}$ A/$ extrm{cm}^2$와 2.5$\times$$10^{-5}$ A/$\textrm{cm}^2$에서 90$0^{\circ}C$ 열처리를 거친 후에 약 4$\times$$10^{-8}$ A/$\textrm{cm}^2$와 4$\times$$10^{-9}$ A/$\textrm{cm}^2$로 감소하였다. Ellipsometry 시뮬레이션을 통해 계산된 계면층의 두께는 90$0^{\circ}C$에서 약 115$\AA$(CeO$_2$) 및 140$\AA$(TiO$_2$)까지 증가하였다. 계면층은 MFIS 구조에서 강유전층에 인가되는 전계를 감소시켜 항전계를 증가시켰고, charge injection을 방지하여 Al/PbTiO$_3$/CeO$_2$(90$0^{\circ}C$, $O_2$)/Si 구조의 경우 $\pm$2 V~$\pm$10 V의 측정범위에서 memory window가 계속 증가하는 것을 보여주었다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2009.06a
• /
• pp.112-112
• /
• 2009

Temperature dependence of the ferroelectric properties of poly(vinylidefluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymer thin films are studied with various insulators such as $SrTa_2O_6$ and $La_2O_3$. Thin films of poly(vinylidene fluoridetrifluoroethylene) 75/25 copolymer were prepared by chemical solution deposition on p-Si substrate. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) and current density (J-V) behavior of the Au/P(VDF-TrFE)/Insulator/p-Si structures were studied at ($150-200\;^{\circ}C$) and dielectric constant of the each insulators were measured to be about 15 at $850\;^{\circ}C$ for 10 minutes. Memory window width at 5 V bias the MFIS(metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor) structure with as deposited films was about 0.5 V at high temperature ($200\;^{\circ}C$). And the memory window width increased as voltage increased from 1 V to 5 V.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2002.07a
• /
• pp.305-309
• /
• 2002

We have successfully fabricated a Metal-Ferroelectric-Insulator-Semiconductor (MFIS) structure using Bi$\sub$4-x/La$\sub$x/Ti$_3$O$\sub$12/ (BLT) ferroelectric thin film and SiO$_2$/Nitride/SiO$_2$ (ONO) stacked buffer layers for single transistor type ferroelectric nonvolatile memory applications. BLT films were deposited on 15 nm-thick ONO buffer layer by sol-gel spin-coating. The dielectric constant and the leakage current density of prepared ONO film were measured to be 5.6 and 1.0 x 10$\^$-8/ A/$\textrm{cm}^2$ at 2MV/cm, respectively, It was interesting to note that the crystallographic orientations of BLT thin films were strongly effected by pre-bake temperatures. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that (117) crystallites were mainly detected in the BLT film if pre-baked below 400$^{\circ}C$. Whereas, for the films pre-baked above 500$^{\circ}C$, the crystallites with preferred c-axis orientation were mainly detected. From the C-V measurement of the MFIS capacitor with c-axis oriented BLT films, the memory window of 0.6 V was obtained at a voltage sweep of ${\pm}$8 V, which evidently reflects the ferroelectric memory effect of a BLT/ONO/Si structure.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2007.11a
• /
• pp.171-172
• /
• 2007

We fabricated the metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor filed-effect transistors (MFIS-FETs) using the $(Bi,La)_4Ti_3O_{12}\;and\;LaZrO_x$ thin films. The $LaZrO_x$ thin film had a equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) value of 8.7 nm. From the capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements for an Au/$(Bi,La)_4Ti_3O_{12}/LaZrO_x$/Si MFIS capacitor, a hysteric shift with a clockwise direction was observed and the memory window width was about 1.4 V for the bias voltage sweeping of ${\pm}9V$. From drain current-gate voltage $(I_D-V_G)$ characteristics of the fabricated Fe-FETs, the obtained threshold voltage shift (memory window) was about 1 V due to ferroelectric nature of BLT film. The drain current-drain voltage $(I_D-V_D)$ characteristics of the fabricated Fe-FETs showed typical n-channel FETs current-voltage characteristics.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.5
• /
• pp.117-126
• /
• 2021

Microfinance focuses on economic development at a minute level. Microfinance is adopted to reduce the poverty level in the economic system. This study is conducted to investigate the microfinance institutions' outreach, its growth, and challenges faced by the Microfinance Banks (MFBs) and Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). Data is collected from MFBs and MFIs working in Muzaffarabad as well as from interviews and focus group discussions. Findings are based upon lending, headcount ratio, offers, the value of their offer, and the possible growth chances of microfinance in Muzaffarabad. In addition to this, the challenges associated with microfinance outreach have been highlighted during analysis and guidelines have been provided to the MFBs and MFIs to increase their outreach. The sector is financially unstable which is attributable to its reliance on conventional sources of funding. The industry faces several endogenous as well as exogenous challenges from its environment which obstructs its growth. Further, it helps the policymakers to work on the development of the region and provide the base for further future research work.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.315-320
• /
• 2000

We have investigated the crystal structure and electrical properties of Pt/SBT/$ZrO_2$/Si (MFIS) and Pt/SBT/Si (MFS) structures for the gate oxide of ferroelectric memory. XRD spectra and SEM showed that the SBT film of SBT/$ZrO_2$/Si structure had larger grain than that of SBT/Si structure. $ZrO_2$ film between SBT film and Si substrate is confirmed as a good candidate for a diffusion barrier by the analysis of AES. The remanent polarization decreased and coercive voltage increased in Pt/SBT/$ZrO_2$/Pt/$SiO_2$/Si structure. This effect may increase memory window of MFIS structure directly related to the coercive voltage. From the capacitance-volt-age characteristics, the memory windows of Pt/SBT (210 nm)/$ZrO_2$ (28 nm)/Si structure were in the range of 1~l.5 V at the applied voltage of 4~6 V. The current densities of Pt/SBT/ZrO$_2$/Si with as -deposited Pt electrode and annealed at $800^{\circ}C$ in $O_2$ambient were $8\times10^{-8} A/\textrm{cm}^2$ and $4\times10^{-8}A/\textrm{cm}^2$ , respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.52-61
• /
• 2003

$SrBi_2Ta_2O_9(SBT)$and$ZrO_2$thin films for MFIS structure(Metal-Ferroelectric-Insulator-Semiconductor) were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering method. In order to investigate the effect of heat treatment of insulator layers and MFIS structure, the insulator layers were heat treated from $550^{circ}C;to; 850^{\circ}C$in conventional furnace or RTA furnace under$O_2$and Ar ambient, respectively. After then, C-V characteristics and leakage current were measured. The capacitor with 20 nm thick $ZrO_2$layer treated at RTA$750^{circ}C;in;O_2$ atmosphere had the largest memory window. The C-V and leakage current characteristics of the$Pt/SBT(260nm)/ZrO_2(20nm)/Si$structure were better than those of$Pt/SBT(260nm)/Si$ structure. These results showed that$ZrO_2$films took a role of buffer layer effectively.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.324-340
• /
• 2014

Recent developments in power electronics technology have spurred interest in the use of renewable energy sources as distributed generation (DG) generators. The key component in DG generators is a grid-connected inverter that serves as an effective interface between the renewable energy source and the utility grid. The multifunctional inverter (MFI) is special type of grid-connected inverter that has elicited much attention in recent years. MFIs not only generate power for DGs but also provide increased functionality through improved power quality and voltage and reactive power support; thus, the capability of the auxiliary service for the utility grid is improved. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the various MFI system configurations for single-phase (two-wire) and three-phase (three- or four-wire) systems and control strategies for the compensation of different power quality problems. The advances in practical applications and recent research on MFIs are presented through a review of nearly 200 papers.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.51-65
• /
• 2008

The article presents the recent research development in polymer ferroelectric non-volatile memory. A brief overview is given of the history of ferroelectric memory and device architectures based on inorganic ferroelectric materials. Particular emphasis is made on device elements such as metal/ferroelectric/metal type capacitor, metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor (MFIS) and ferroelectric field effect transistor (FeFET) with ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and its copolymers with trifluoroethylene (TrFE). In addition, various material and process issues for realization of polymer ferroelectric non-volatile memory are discussed, including the control of crystal polymorphs, film thickness, crystallization and crystal orientation and the unconventional patterning techniques.