• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.441-441
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• 2012

Franz Keldysh Oscillation (FKO)은 p-n 접합 구조의 Photoreflectance (PR) spectra에서 표면 및 계면의 전기장(electric field) 특성을 반영한다. InAs/GaAs 양자점 태양전지(Quantum Dot Solar Cell, QDSC) 구조에서 InAs 양자점 층 전후에 AlGaAs 층을 삽입하여 퍼텐셜 장벽(potential barrier) 두께에 따른 PR spectra 및 GaAs-matrix에서 FKO 주파수 특성을 비교 분석하였다. InAs/GaAs 양자점 태양전지는 p-i-n 구조의 i-GaAs에 2.0 monolayer (ML), 8주기의 InAs 양자점 층을 삽입하여 Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) 방법으로 성장하였다. 각 양자점 층 전후에 두께가 각각 0.0, 1.6, 2.8, 6.0 nm인 AlGaAs 층을 삽입하여 퍼텐셜 장벽 두께에 따른 FKO 주파수 변화를 관측하였다. 또한 태양전지 구조의 전기장 분포를 좀 더 용이하게 관측하기 위해 여기 광의 세기(power intensity)를 충분히 낮추어 Photovoltaic effect에 의한 내부 전기장의 변화를 최소화하여 비교 분석하였다. InAs/GaAs 양자점 태양전지 구조에서 AlGaAs 장벽층이 없는 경우, PR spectra의 Fast Fourier Transform 결과에 반영되는 FKO 주파수 특성은 p-i-n 구조 계면에서 공핍층(depletion region)의 space charge field보다 양자점 층의 내부 전기장에 의한 FKO 주파수가 더 큰 진폭(amplitude)을 보였다. 반면에, AlGaAs 장벽층이 삽입되면 두께가 커짐에 따라 p-i-n 구조 계면의 space charge field에 의해 더 큰 진폭의 FKO 주파수가 관측되었다. 이는 AlGaAs 장벽층이 삽입됨으로써 양자점 층 내 양자 상태 수 및 여기광에 의한 캐리어의 수와 관련이 있음을 확인하였으며, 결과적으로 GaAs-matrix에서 p-i-n 구조 계면의 space charge field에 영향을 미치게 됨을 알 수 있다. 이러한 PR 특성 결과들을 InAs/GaAs 양자점 태양전지의 설계 및 제조에 반영함으로써 양자효율 증대에 기여할 것으로 기대된다.

• Clean Technology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.121-132
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• 2017

The increase of greenhouse gases and the concern of global warming instigate the development and spread of renewable energy and hydrogen is considered one of the clean energy sources. Hydrogen is one of the most elements in the earth and exist in the form of fossil fuel, biomass and water. In order to use hydrogen for a clean energy source, the hydrogen production method should be eco-friendly and economic as well. There are two different hydrogen production methods: conventional thermal method using fossil fuel and renewable method using biomass and water. Steam reforming, autothermal reforming, partial oxidation, and gasification (using solid fuel) have been considered for hydrogen production from fossil fuel. When using fossil fuel, carbon dioxide should be separated from hydrogen and captured to be accepted as a clean energy. The amount of hydrogen from biomass is insignificant. In order to occupy noticeable portion in hydrogen industries, biomass conversion, especially, biological method should be sufficiently improved in a process efficiency and a microorganism cultivation. Electrolysis is a mature technology and hydrogen from water is considered the most eco-friendly method in terms of clean energy when the electric power is from renewable sources such as photovoltaic cell, solar heat, and wind power etc.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.58-63
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• 2008

This study has analysed power output characteristics of transparent thin-film PV module depending on incidence angle and azimuth. The experiment results showed power outputs of transparent thin-film PV module applied to full-scale mock up model on slope of $90^{\circ},\;30^{\circ},\;0^{\circ}$ to the south. The simulation results was evaluated power outputs of transparent thin-film PV module depending on incidence angle and azimuth after calibrating the experimental and computed data. As a result. the best power output performance of transparent thin-film PV module was obtained at slope of $30^{\circ}$ to the south, producing the annual power output of 977kWh/kWp. The annual power output data demonstrated that the PV module with a slope of $30^{\circ}$ could produce a 68 % higher power output than that with a slope of $90^{\circ}$ with respect to the inclined slope of the module, Furthermore, the PV module facing south showed a 22 % higher power output than that facing to the east in terms of the angle of the azimuth, Specipically. the varying power output with incidence angle of PV module can be resulted from the influence of incidence angle modifier of glass on PV module. That is, the solar energy transmission can be reduced as an increase of incidence angle of PV module. Therefore, when the inclined slope of the PV module was over $70^{\circ}$ there was a significant reduction of power output, and this was caused by the decrease of solar energy transmission in the transparent thin-film PV module.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.239-246
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• 1999

A highly sensitive photovoltaic infrared photodiode was fabricated for detecting infrared light in $3{\sim}5\;{\mu}m$ wavelength range on InSb wafer with p-i-n structure grown by MOCVD. Silicon dioxide($SiO_2$) insulating films for the junction interface and surface of photodiode were prepared using RPCVD because InSb has low melting point and evaporation temperature. After formation of In ohmic contacts by thermal evaporation, the electrical properties of the photodiode were characterized in dark state at 77K. A product of zero-bias resistance and area($R_0A$) showed $1.56{\times}10^6\;{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$ that satisfied BLIP(background limited infrared photodetector) condition. When the photodiode was tested under infrared light, the normalized detectivity of about $10^{11}\;cm{\cdot}Hz^{1/2}{\cdot}W^{-1}$ was obtained. we successfully fabricated a unit cell with InSb IR array with good quantum efficiency and high detectivity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.276-276
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• 2010

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) has been explored recently as a promising approach to increase energy conversion efficiency in photovoltaic devices, particularly for thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells. The LSPR is frequently excited via an electromagnetic (EM) radiation in proximate metallic nanostructures and its primary con sequences are selective photon extinction and local EM enhancement which gives rise to improved photogeneration of electron-hole (e-h) pairs, and consequently increases photocurrent. In this work, high-dielectric-constant (k) $ZrO_2$ (refractive index n=2.22, dielectric constant $\varepsilon=4.93$ at the wavelength of 550 nm) is proposed as spacing layer to enhance the LSPR for application to the thin film silicon solar cells. Compared to excitation of the LSPR using $SiO_2$ (n=1.46, $\varepsilon=2.13$ at the wavelength of 546.1 nm) spacing layer with Au nanoparticles of the radius of 45nm, that using $ZrO_2$ dielectric shows the advantages of(i) ~2.5 times greater polarizability, (ii) ~3.5 times larger scattering cross-section and ~1.5 times larger absorption cross-section, (iii) 4.5% higher transmission coefficient of the same thickness and (iv) 7.8% greater transmitted electric filed intensity at the same depth. All those results are calculated by Mie theory and Fresnel equations, and simulated by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations with proper boundary conditions. Red-shifting of the LSPR wavelength using high-k $ZrO_2$ dielectric is also observed according to location of the peak and this is consistent with the other's report. Finally, our experimental results show that variation of short-circuit current density ($J_{sc}$) of the LSPR enhanced a-Si:H solar cell by using the $ZrO_2$ spacing layer is 45.4% higher than that using the $SiO_2$ spacing layer, supporting our calculation and theory.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.954-959
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• 2021

Apoptosis is an important mechanism that regulates cellular populations to maintain homeostasis, and the caspases, a family of cysteine proteases, are key mediators of the apoptosis pathway. Caspase-8 is an initiator caspase of the extrinsic apoptotic pathway, which is initiated by extracellular stimuli. Caspase-8 have two conserved domains, N-terminal tandem death effector domains (DED) and C-terminal two catalytic domain, which are important for this extrinsic apoptosis pathway. In extrinsic apoptosis pathway, death receptors which members of TNF superfamily are activated by binding of death receptor specific ligands from cell outside. After the activated death receptors recruit adaptor protein Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD), death domains (DD) of death receptor and FADD bind to each other and FADD combined with death receptor recruits procaspase-8, a precursor form of caspase-8. The DED of FADD and procaspase-8 bind to one another and FADD-bound procaspase-8 is activated by cleavage of the prodomain. This death receptor-FADD-caspase-8 complex called death inducing signaling complex (DISC). Cellular FLICE-inhibitory proteins (c-FLIPs) regulate caspase-8 activation by acting both anti- and pro-apoptotically, and caspase-8 activation initiates the activation of executioner caspases such as caspase-3. Finally activated executioner caspases complete the apoptosis by acting critically DNA degradation, nuclear condensation, plasma membrane blebbing, and the proteolysis of certain caspase substrates.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.251-255
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• 2021

a-Si is commonly considered as a primary candidate for the formation of passivation layer in heterojunction (HIT) solar cells. However, there are some problems when using this material such as significant losses due to recombination and parasitic absorption. To reduce these problems, a wide bandgap material is needed. A wide bandgap has a positive influence on effective transmittance, reduction of the parasitic absorption, and prevention of unnecessary epitaxial growth. In this paper, the adoption of a-SiO_x:H as the intrinsic layer was discussed. To increase lifetime and conductivity, oxygen concentration control is crucial because it is correlated with the thickness, bonding defect, interface density (D_it), and band offset. A thick oxygen-rich layer causes the lifetime and the implied open-circuit voltage to drop. Furthermore the thicker the layer gets, the more free hydrogen atoms are etched in thin films, which worsens the passivation quality and the efficiency of solar cells. Previous studies revealed that the lifetime and the implied voltage decreased when the a-SiOx thickness went beyond around 9 nm. In addition to this, oxygen acted as a defect in the intrinsic layer. The D_it increased up to an oxygen rate on the order of 8%. Beyond 8%, the D_it was constant. By controlling the oxygen concentration properly and achieving a thin layer, high-efficiency HIT solar cells can be fabricated.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1-7
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• 2017

Cobalt silicide was used as a counter electrode in order to confirm its reliability in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) devices. 100 nm-Co/300 nm-Si/quartz was formed by an evaporator and cobalt silicide was formed by vacuum heat treatment at $700^{\circ}C$ for 60 min to form approximately 350 nm-CoSi. This process was followed by etching in $80^{\circ}C$-30% $H_2SO_4$ to remove the cobalt residue on the cobalt silicide surface. Also, for the comparison against Pt, we prepared a 100 nm-Pt/glass counter electrode. Cobalt silicide was used for the counter electrode in order to confirm its reliability in DSSC devices and maintained for 0, 168, 336, 504, 672, and 840 hours at $80^{\circ}C$. The photovoltaic properties of the DSSCs employing cobalt silicide were confirmed by using a simulator and potentiostat. Cyclic-voltammetry, field emission scanning electron microscopy, focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectrometry analyses were used to confirm the catalytic activity, microstructure, and composition, respectively. The energy conversion efficiency (ECE) as a function of time and ECE of the DSSC with Pt and CoSi counter electrodes were maintained for 504 hours. However, after 672 hours, the ECEs decreased to a half of their initial values. The results of the catalytic activity analysis showed that the catalytic activities of the Pt and CoSi counter electrodes decreased to 64% and 57% of their initial values, respectively(after 840 hours). The microstructure analysis showed that the CoSi layer improved the durability in the electrolyte, but because the stress concentrates on the contact surface between the lower quartz substrate and the CoSi layer, cracks are formed locally and flaking occurs. Thus, deterioration occurs due to the residual stress built up during the silicidation of the CoSi counter electrode, so it is necessary to take measures against these residual stresses, in order to ensure the reliability of the electrode.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.100-101
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• 2012

The plasma damage free and room temperature processedthin film deposition technology is essential for realization of various next generation organic microelectronic devices such as flexible AMOLED display, flexible OLED lighting, and organic photovoltaic cells because characteristics of fragile organic materials in the plasma process and low glass transition temperatures (Tg) of polymer substrate. In case of directly deposition of metal oxide thin films (including transparent conductive oxide (TCO) and amorphous oxide semiconductor (AOS)) on the organic layers, plasma damages against to the organic materials is fatal. This damage is believed to be originated mainly from high energy energetic particles during the sputtering process such as negative oxygen ions, reflected neutrals by reflection of plasma background gas at the target surface, sputtered atoms, bulk plasma ions, and secondary electrons. To solve this problem, we developed the NBAS (Neutral Beam Assisted Sputtering) process as a plasma damage free and room temperature processed sputtering technology. As a result, electro-optical properties of NBAS processed ITO thin film showed resistivity of $4.0{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}{\cdot}m$ and high transmittance (>90% at 550 nm) with nano- crystalline structure at room temperature process. Furthermore, in the experiment result of directly deposition of TCO top anode on the inverted structure OLED cell, it is verified that NBAS TCO deposition process does not damages to the underlying organic layers. In case of deposition of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) thin film on the plastic polymer substrate, the room temperature processed sputtering coating of high quality TCO thin film is required. During the sputtering process with higher density plasma, the energetic particles contribute self supplying of activation & crystallization energy without any additional heating and post-annealing and forminga high quality TCO thin film. However, negative oxygen ions which generated from sputteringtarget surface by electron attachment are accelerated to high energy by induced cathode self-bias. Thus the high energy negative oxygen ions can lead to critical physical bombardment damages to forming oxide thin film and this effect does not recover in room temperature process without post thermal annealing. To salve the inherent limitation of plasma sputtering, we have been developed the Magnetic Field Shielded Sputtering (MFSS) process as the high quality oxide thin film deposition process at room temperature. The MFSS process is effectively eliminate or suppress the negative oxygen ions bombardment damage by the plasma limiter which composed permanent magnet array. As a result, electro-optical properties of MFSS processed ITO thin film (resistivity $3.9{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$, transmittance 95% at 550 nm) have approachedthose of a high temperature DC magnetron sputtering (DMS) ITO thin film were. Also, AOS (a-IGZO) TFTs fabricated by MFSS process without higher temperature post annealing showed very comparable electrical performance with those by DMS process with $400^{\circ}C$ post annealing. They are important to note that the bombardment of a negative oxygen ion which is accelerated by dc self-bias during rf sputtering could degrade the electrical performance of ITO electrodes and a-IGZO TFTs. Finally, we found that reduction of damage from the high energy negative oxygen ions bombardment drives improvement of crystalline structure in the ITO thin film and suppression of the sub-gab states in a-IGZO semiconductor thin film. For realization of organic flexible electronic devices based on plastic substrates, gas barrier coatings are required to prevent the permeation of water and oxygen because organic materials are highly susceptible to water and oxygen. In particular, high efficiency flexible AMOLEDs needs an extremely low water vapor transition rate (WVTR) of $1{\times}10^{-6}gm^{-2}day^{-1}$. The key factor in high quality inorganic gas barrier formation for achieving the very low WVTR required (under ${\sim}10^{-6}gm^{-2}day^{-1}$) is the suppression of nano-sized defect sites and gas diffusion pathways among the grain boundaries. For formation of high quality single inorganic gas barrier layer, we developed high density nano-structured Al2O3 single gas barrier layer usinga NBAS process. The NBAS process can continuously change crystalline structures from an amorphous phase to a nano- crystalline phase with various grain sizes in a single inorganic thin film. As a result, the water vapor transmission rates (WVTR) of the NBAS processed $Al_2O_3$ gas barrier film have improved order of magnitude compared with that of conventional $Al_2O_3$ layers made by the RF magnetron sputteringprocess under the same sputtering conditions; the WVTR of the NBAS processed $Al_2O_3$ gas barrier film was about $5{\times}10^{-6}g/m^2/day$ by just single layer.