• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.205-210
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• 2015

NbN coatings were prepared by ICP (inductively coupled plasma) assisted magnetron sputtering from a Nb metal target in $Ar+N_2$ atmosphere at various ICP powers. Effect of ICP on the microstructure, crystalline structure and mechanical properties of NbN coatings was investigated by field emission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and nanoindentation measurements. The results show that ICP power has a significant influence on coating microstructure, structure and mechanical properties of NbN coatings. With the increasing of ICP power, coating microstructure evolves from the columnar structure of DC process to a highly dense one. Crystalline structure of NbN coatings were changed from cubic ${\delta}$-NbN to hexagonal ${\beta}-Nb_2N$ with increase of ICP power. The maximum nano hardness of 25.4 GPa with Ra roughness of 0.5 nm was obtained from the NbN coating sputtered at ICP power of 200 W.

• Metals and materials international
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1285-1292
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• 2018

Microstructural properties of as-grown and annealed CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy (HEA) oxynitride thin films were investigated. The CoCrFeMnNi HEA oxynitride thin film was grown by magnetron sputtering method using an air gas, and annealed under the argon plus air flow for 5 h at $800^{\circ}C$. The as-grown film was homogeneous and uniform composed of nanometer-sized crystalline regions mixed with amorphous-like phase. The crystalline phase in the as-grown film was face centered cubic structure with the lattice constant of 0.4242 nm. Significant microstructural changes were observed after the annealing process. First, it was fully recrystallized and grain growth happened. Second, Ni-rich region was observed in nanometer-scale range. Third, phase change happened and it was determined to be $Fe_3O_4$ spinel structure with the lattice constant of 0.8326 nm. Hardness and Young's modulus of the as-grown film were 4.1 and 150.5 GPa, while those were 9.4 and 156.4 GPa for the annealed film, respectively.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.475-485
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• 2022

Crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells have advantages of zero pollution, large scale and high reliability. A major challenge is that sunlight wavelength with photon energy lower than semiconductor band gap is converted into heat and increase its temperature and reduce its conversion efficiency. Traditional cooling PV method is using water flowing below the modules to cool down PV temperature. In this paper, the idea is proposed to reduce the temperature of the module and improve the energy conversion efficiency of the module through the modulation of the solar spectrum. A spectrally selective nanofilm reflector located directly on the surface of PV is designed, which can reflect sunlight wavelength with low photon energy, and even enhance absorption of sunlight wavelength with high photon energy. The results indicate that nanofilm reflector can reduce spectral reflectivity integral from 9.0% to 6.93% in 400~1100 nm wavelength range, and improve spectral reflectivity integral from 23.1% to 78.34% in long wavelength range. The nanofilm reflector can reduce temperature of PV by 4.51℃ and relatively improved energy conversion efficiency of PV by 1.25% when solar irradiance is 1000 W/m². Furthermore, the nanofilm reflector is insensitive in sunlight's angle and polarization state, and be suitable for high irradiance environment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.440-440
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• 2012

Nanomaterials have emerged as new building blocks to construct light energy harvesting assemblies. Size dependent properties provide the basis for developing new and effective systems with semiconductor nanoparticles, quantized charging effects in metal nanoparticle or their combinations in 2 and 3 dimensions for expanding the possibility of developing new strategies for photovoltaic system. As top-down approach, we developed a simple and effective method for the large scale formation of self-assembled Cu(In,Ga)$Se_2$ (CIGS) nanostructures by ion beam irradiation. The compositional changes and morphological evolution were observed as a function of the irradiation time. As the ion irradiation time increased, the nano-dots were transformed into a nano-ridge structure due to the difference in the sputtering yields and diffusion rates of each element and the competition between sputtering and diffusion processes during irradiation. As bottom-up approach, we developed the growth of CIGS nanowires using thermal-chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Vapor-phase synthesis is probably the most extensively explored approach to the formation of 1D nanostructures such as whiskers, nanorods, and nanowires. However, unlike binary or ternary chalcogenides, the synthesis of quaternary CIGS nanostructures is challenging because of the difficulty in controlling the stoichiometry and phase structure. We introduced a method for synthesis of the single crystalline CIGS nanowires in the form of chalcopyrite using thermal-CVD without catalyst. It was confirmed that the CIGS nanowires are epitaxially grown on a sapphire substrate, having a length ranged from 3 to 100 micrometers and a diameter from 30 to 500 nm.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.53.2-53.2
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• 2010

In this study, we focused on our specialized electrode process for Si back-contact crystalline solar cell. It is different from other well-known back-contact cell process for thermal aspect and specialized process. In general, aluminum makes ohmic contact to the Si wafer and acts as a back surface reflector. And, silver is used for low series resistance metal grid lines. Aluminum was sputtered onto back side of wafer. Next, silver is directly patterned on the wafer by screen printing. The sputtered aluminum was removed by wet etching process after rear silver electrode was formed. In this process, the silver paste must have good printability, electrical property and adhesion strength, before and after the aluminum etching process. Silver paste also needs low temperature firing characteristics to reduce the thermal budget. So it was seriously collected by the products of several company of regarding low temperature firing (below $250^{\circ}C$) and aluminum etching endurance. First of all, silver pastes for etching selectivity were selected to evaluate as low temperature firing condition, electrical properties and adhesive strength. Using the nano- and micron-sized silver paste, so called hybrid type, made low temperature firing. So we could minimize the thermal budget in metallization process. Also the adhesion property greatly depended on the composition of paste, especially added resin and inorganic additives. In this paper, we will show that the metallization process of back-contact solar cell was realized as optimized nano-paste characteristics.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.373-393
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• 2015

Background: Cellulose is a ubiquitous, renewable and environmentally friendly biopolymer, which has high promise to fulfil the rising demand for sustainable and biocompatible materials. Particularly, the recent progress in the synthesis of highly crystalline cellulose-based nanoscale biomaterials, namely cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), draws significant attention from many research communities, ranging from bioresource engineering, to materials science and engineering, to biological and biomedical engineering to bionanotechnology. The feasibility of harnessing CNCs' unique biophysicochemical properties has inspired their basic and applied research, offering much promise for new biomaterials with diverse advanced functionalities. Purpose: This review focuses on vital issues and topics on the recent advances in CNC-based biomaterials with potential, in particular, for bionanotechnology and biological and biomedical engineering. The challenges and limitations of CNC technology are discussed as well as potential strategies to overcome them, providing an essential source of information in the exploration of possible and futuristic applications of the CNC-based functional "green" nanomaterials. Conclusion: CNCs offer exciting possibilities for advanced "green" nanomaterials, driving innovative research and development in a wide range of fields, including biological and biomedical engineering.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.367-374
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• 2002

Electrical characteristics of crystalline polymer composites filled with nano-sized carbon black particle were studied. The developed composite system exhibited a typical positive temperature coefficient resistance (PTCR) characteristic, where the electrical resistance sharply increased at a specific temperature. The PTCR effect was sometimes followed by a negative temperature coefficient resistance (NTCR) feature with temperature, which seemingly caused by the coagulation of nano-sized carbon black particles in the excessive quantity. The PTCR temperature was controlled by the carbon black content and the external voltage. The change of electric conductivity was shown as a function of carbon black content, and the resistance was constant when the carbon black content was over 20 wt%. The room-temperature resistance was maintained by a repeated heating and cooling. The excellent PTCR characteristic was demonstrated by the low resistance in the initial stage and the instantaneous heating capability.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.12 no.6 s.53
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• pp.406-412
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• 2005

This work is to present a new synthesis of metallic glass (MG)/metallic glass (MG) composites using gas atomization and spark plasma sintering (SPS) processes. The MG powders of $Cu_{54}Ni_6Zr_{22}Ti_{18}$ (CuA) and $Ni_{59}Zr_{15}Ti_{13}Nb_7Si_3Sn_2Al_1$(NiA) as atomized consist of fully amorphous phases and present a different thermal behavior; $T_g$ (glass transition temperature) and $T_x$ (crystallization temperature) are 716K and 765K for the Cu base powder, but 836K and 890K for the Ni base ones, respectively. SPS process was used to consolidate the mixture of each amorphous powder, being $CuA/10\%NiA\;and\;NiA/10\%CuA$ in weight. The resultant phases were Cu crystalline dispersed NiA matrix composites as well as NiA phase dispersed CuA matrix composites, depending on the SPS temperatures. Effect of the second phases embedded in the MG matrix was discussed on the micro-structure and mechanical properties.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.12 no.4 s.51
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• pp.273-278
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• 2005

Nanostructured TiN/$TiB_2$/$TiSi_2$ and TiN/$TiB_2$/$Ti_5Si_2$ composite powders have been prepared by mechanochemical reaction from mixtures of Ti, BN, and $Si_3N_4$ powders. The raw materials have reacted to form a uniform mixture of TiN, $TiB_2$ and $TiSi_2$ or $Ti_5Si_3$ depending on the amount of $Si_3N_4$ used in the starting mixtures, and the reaction proceeded through so-called mechanically activated self-sustaining reaction (MSR). Fine TiN and $TiB_2$ crystallites less than a few tens of nanometer were homogeneously dispersed in the amorphous $TiSi_2$ or $Ti_5Si_3$ matrix after milling for 12 hours. These amorphous matrices became crystalline phases after annealing at high temperatures as expected, but the original microstructure did not change significantly.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.195-200
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• 2013

Here, we report preparation of cyan ceramic nano-pigment for inkjet printing and the Ni substitutional effects on the cyan color. $MgAl_2O_4$ was selected as the crystalline host network for the synthesis of nickel-based cyan ceramic nano-pigments. Various compositions of $Ni_xMg_{1-x}Al_2O_4$ ($0{\leq}x{\leq}1$) powders were prepared using the polymerized complex method. The powder was then preheated at $400^{\circ}C$ for 5 h and finally calcined at $1000^{\circ}C$ for 5 h. XRD patterns of $Ni_xMg_{1-x}Al_2O_4$ showed a single phase of the spinel structure in all the compositions. The particle sizes ranged from 20 to 50 nm in TEM observations. The characteristics of the color tones of $Ni_xMg_{1-x}Al_2O_4$ were analyzed by UV-Visible spectroscopy and CIE $L^*a^*b^*$ measurement. CIE $L^*a^*b^*$ measurement results indicate that the pigment color changes from light cyan to deep cyan due to the decrease of the $a^*$ and $b^*$ values with an increase of an Ni substitutional amount. In addition, the thermal stability and the binding nature of $Ni_xMg_{1-x}Al_2O_4$ are also discussed using TG-DSC and FT-IR results respectively.