• Solar Energy
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.3-11
• /
• 1997

Because grain boundaries in polycrystalline silicon act as potential barriers and recombination centers for the photo-generated charge carriers, these defects degrade conversion effiency of solar cell. To reduce these effects of grain boundaries, we investigated various influencing factors such as thermal treatment, various grid pattern, selective wet etching for grain boundaries, buried contact metallization along grain boundaries, grid on metallic thin film. Pretreatment above $900^{\circ}C$ in $N_2$ atmosphere, gettering by $POCl_3$ and Al treatment for back surface field contributed to obtain a high quality poly-Si. To prevent carrier losses at the grain boundaries, we carried out surface treatment using Schimmel etchant. This etchant delineated grain boundaries of $10{\mu}m$ depth as well as surface texturing effect. A metal AI diffusion into grain boundaries on rear side reduced back surface recombination effects at grain boundaries. A combination of fine grid with finger spacing of 0.4mm and buried electrode along grain boundaries improved short circuit current density of solar cell. A ultra-thin Chromium layer of 20nm with transmittance of 80% reduced series resistance. This paper focused on the grain boundary effect for terrestrial applications of solar cells with low cost, large area, and high efficiency.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.165-172
• /
• 2019

Using two or more coaxial lines, if one port is connected in series and the other port is connected in parallel, it can be implemented the wideband transmission line transformer(TLT). Because the wideband TLT utilizes the outer conductor of the coaxial line, it is difficult to predict the characteristics. In this paper, based on the analysis for the transfer characteristic(S21) according to the loss of the each line in ${\lambda}/4$-microstrip line TLT, the operating characteristic of the fabricated wideband 4:1 TLT using two $25{\Omega}$-coaxial lines is investigated. The fabricated wideband TLT shows the notch characteristic in which the transfer signal sharply decreases at ${\lambda}/4$ frequency of the coaxial line and has a value within -0.2dB of the transfer characteristic(S21) in $0.06{\sim}0.2{\lambda}$ frequency range of the coaxial line. This transfer characteristics(S21) can change the operating frequency range slightly and set the optimum transfer characteristic(S21) at the desired frequency by changing the length of the microstrip line.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.603-609
• /
• 2022

Passivation quality is mainly governed by epitaxial growth of crystalline silicon wafer surface. Void-rich intrinsic a-Si:H interfacial layer could offer higher resistivity of the c-Si surface and hence a better device efficiency as well. To reduce the resistivity of the contact area, a modification of void-rich intrinsic layer of a-Si:H towards more ordered state with a higher density is adopted by adapting its thickness and reducing its series resistance significantly, but it slightly decreases passivation quality. Higher resistance is not dominated by asymmetric effects like different band offsets for electrons or holes. In this study, multilayer of intrinsic a-Si:H layers were used. The first one with a void-rich was a-Si:H(I₁) and the next one a-SiO_x:H(I₂) were used, where a-SiO_x:H(I₂) had relatively larger band gap of ~2.07 eV than that of a-Si:H (I₁). Using a-SiO_x:H as I₂ layer was expected to increase transparency, which could lead to an easy carrier transport. Also, higher implied voltage than the conventional structure was expected. This means that the a-SiO_x:H could be a promising material for a high-quality passivation of c-Si. In addition, the i-a-SiO_x:H microstructure can help the carrier transportation through tunneling and thermal emission.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.9 no.6
• /
• pp.870-877
• /
• 1998

With impedance spectrum measurements, impedance was studied in the interface between sample solutions for $K^+-ion$ selective PVC membrane electrode containing neutral carriers [dibenzo-18-crown-6 (D18Cr6) and valinomycine (Val)]. Response characteristics of electrode were examined by measuring AC impedance spectra that were resulted from the chemical structure and the content of carrier, variation of plasticizer, membrane thickness, doping of base electrolytes, and concentration variation of sample solution. Transport characteristics of PVC membrane electrode were also studied. It was found that the equivalent circuit for the membrane in $K^+$ solution could be expressed by a series combination of solution resistance and a parallel circuit consisting of the bulk resistance and geometric capacitance of the membrane system. But the charge transfer resistance and Warburg resistance were overlapped a little in the low concentration and low frequency ranges. The carrier, D18Cr6 was best for electrode and impedance characteristics, and ideal electrode characteristics were appeared especially in case of doping of the base electrolyte[potassium tetraphenylborate(TPB)]. The optimum carrier content was about 3.23 wt% in case of D18Cr6 and Val. DBP was best as a plasticizer. As membrane thickness decreased the impedance characteristics was improved, but electrode characteristics were lowered for membrane thickness below the optimum. In the case of D18Cr6, the selectivity coefficients by the mixed solution method for the $K^+$ ion were the order of $NH_4{^+}>Ca^{2+}>Mg^{2+}>Na^+$.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.230-239
• /
• 1999

Perchlorate ion-selective electrodes in PVC membranes that respond linearly to concentration 106 M were developed by incorporating the quaternary phosphonium salts as a canier. The effects of the chemical structure, the contents of canier, the kind of plasticizer and the membrane thickness on electrode characteristics such as the electrode slope, the linear respone range and the detection limit were studied. With this results, the detectable pH range, selectivity coefficients and AC impedance characteristics were compared and investigated. The perchlorate ion substituents of the quaternary phosphonium salts like tetraoctylphosphonium perchlorate (TOPP) , tetraphenylphosphonium perchlorate(TPPP), and tetrabutylphosphonium perchlorate(TBPP) as a canier were used. The electrode characteristics were better in the ascending order of TBPP < TPPP < TOPP, with the increase of carbon chain length of the alkyl group. Dioctylsebacate(OOS) was best as a plasticizer, the canier contents were better with 11.76 wt% and the optimum membrane thickness was 0.19 mm. Under the above condition, the electrode slope was 56.58 mV/$^P{ClO}_4$,the linear response range was $10^{-1}$\times$10^{-6}$ M, the detection limit was 9.66 x $10^{-7}$ M. The performance of electrode was better than Orion electrode. The electrode potential was stable within the pH range from 3 to 11. The order of the selectivity coefficients for the perchlorate ion was sol < F < Br < 1. With the result of impedance spectrum, it was found that the equivalent circuit for the electrode could be expressed by a series combination of solution resistance, parallel circuit consisting of the double layer capacitance and bulk resistance and Warburg impedance. And solution resistance was almost not appeared and Warburg impedance was highly appeared by diffusion. Then Warburg coefficient was 1.32$\times$$10^74 $\Omega$ $\cdot$ ${cm}^2/s^{1/2}$.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.651-662
• /
• 2022

The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) method was used to evaluate the concrete deterioration process related to chloride-induced steel corrosion with various corrosion levels(initiation, rust propagation and acceleration periods). The impressed current technique, with four total current levels of 0C, 13C, 65C and 130C, was used to accelerate steel corrosion in concrete cylinder samples with w/c ratio of 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6, immersed in a 0.5M NaCl solution. A series of EIS measurements was performed to monitor concrete deterioration during the accelerated corrosion test in this study. Some critical parameters of the equivalent circuit were obtained through the EIS analysis. It was observed that the charge transfer resistance(R_c) dropped sharply as the impressed current increased from 0C to 13C, indicating a value of approximately 10kΩcm². However, the sensitivity of R_c significantly decreased when the impressed current was further increased from 13C to 130C after corrosion of steel had been initiated. Meanwhile, the double-layer capacitance value(C_dl) linearly increased from 50×10^-6μF/cm² to 250×10^-6μF/cm² as the impressed current in creased from 0C to 130C. The results in this study showed that monitoring C_dl is an effective measurement parameter for evaluating the progress of internal concrete damages(de-bonding between steel and concrete, micro-cracks, and surface-breaking cracks) induced by steel corrosion. The findings of this study provide a fundamental basis for developing an embedded sensor and signal interpretation method for monitoring concrete deterioration due to steel corrosion at various corrosion levels.