• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.267-275
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• 2015

In this paper, ZnO films were prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and CdS films were deposited using chemical bath deposition (CBD) to form ZnO/CdS heterojunction. More accurate mapping of band arrangement of the ZnO/CdS heterojunction has been performed by analyzing its electrical and optical characteristics in depth by various methods including transmittance, x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS). The optical bandgap energies ($E_g$) of ZnO and CdS were 3.27 eV and 2.34 eV, respectively. UPS was capable of extracting the ionization potential energies (IPEs) of the materials, which turned out to be 8.69 eV and 7.30 eV, respectively. The electron affinity (EA) values of ZnO and CdS calculated from IPE and $E_g$ were 5.42 eV and 4.96 eV, respectively. Energy-band structures of the heterojunction could be accurately drawn from these parameters taking the conduction band offset (CBO) into account, which will substantially help acquisition of the full band structures of the thin films in the CIGS solar-cell device and contribute to the optimal device designs.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.82-89
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• 2013

$Cu_2ZnSnS_4$ thin film have been fabricated by rapid thermal annealing of dc-sputtered metal precursor with Cu/ZnSn/Cu stack in sulfur ambient. A CZTS film with a good uniformity was formed at $560^{\circ}C$ in 6 min. $Cu_2SnS_3$ and $Cu_3SnS_4$ secondary phases were present at $540^{\circ}C$ and a trace amount of $Cu_2SnS_3$ secondary phase was present at $560^{\circ}C$. Single-phase large-grained CZTS film with rough surface was formed at $560^{\circ}C$. Solar cell with best efficiency of 4.7% ($V_{oc}=632mV$, $j_{sc}=15.8mA/cm^2$, FF = 47.13%) for an area of $0.44cm^2$ was obtained for the CZTS absorber grown at $560^{\circ}C$ for 6 min. The existence of second phase at lower-temperature annealing and rough surface at higher-temperature annealing caused the degradation of cell performance. Also poor back contact by void formation deteriorated cell performance. The fill factor was below 0.5; it should be increased by minimizing voids at the CZTS/Mo interface. Our results suggest that CZTS absorbers can be grown by rapid thermal annealing of metallic precursors in sulfur ambient for short process times ranging in minutes.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.192-195
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• 2012

We reported diborane ($B_2H_6$) doped wide bandgap hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide (p-type a-SiOx:H) films prepared by using silane ($SiH_4$) hydrogen ($H_2$) and nitrous oxide ($N_2O$) in a radio frequency (RF) plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system. We improved the $E_{opt}$ and conductivity of p-type a-SiOx:H films with various $N_2O$ and $B_2H_6$ ratios and applied those films in regards to the a-Si thin film solar cells. For the single layer p-type a-SiOx:H films, we achieved an optical band gap energy ($E_{opt}$) of 1.91 and 1.99 eV, electrical conductivity of approximately $10^{-7}$ S/cm and activation energy ($E_a$) of 0.57 to 0.52 eV with various $N_2O$ and $B_2H_6$ ratios. We applied those films for the a-Si thin film solar cell and the current-voltage characteristics are as given as: $V_{oc}$ = 853 and 842 mV, $J_{sc}$ = 13.87 and 15.13 $mA/cm^2$. FF = 0.645 and 0.656 and ${\eta}$ = 7.54 and 8.36% with $B_2H_6$ ratios of 0.5 and 1% respectively.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2013

The $Cu_2ZnSnS_4$ (CZTS) thin film solar cell is a candidate next generation thin film solar cell. For the application of an absorption layer in solar cells, CZTS thin films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at substrate temperature of $300^{\circ}C$ without post annealing process. Deposition time was carefully adjusted as the main experimental variable. Regardless of deposition time, single phase CZTS thin films are obtained with no existence of secondary phases. Irregularly-shaped grains are densely formed on the surface of CZTS thin films. With increasing deposition time, the grain size increases and the thickness of the CZTS thin films increases from 0.16 to $1{\mu}m$. The variation of the surface morphology and thickness of the CZTS thin films depends on the deposition time. The stoichiometry of all CZTS thin films shows a Cu-rich and S-poor state. Sn content gradually increases as deposition time increases. Secondary ion mass spectrometry was carried out to evaluate the elemental depth distribution in CZTS thin films. The optimal deposition time to grow CZTS thin films is 150 min. In this study, we show the effect of deposition time on the structural properties of CZTS thin film deposited on soda lime glass (SLG) substrate using PLD. We present a comprehensive evaluation of CZTS thin films.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.219-223
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• 2009

$TiO_2$ doped with $Er^{3+\;and\;Yb^{3+}$ was used for fabricating a scattering layer and a nano-crystalline $TiO_2$ electrode layer to be used in dye-sensitized solar cells. The material was prepared using a new sol-gel combustion hybrid method with acetylene black as fuel. The $Er^{3+}$-$Yb^{3+}$ co-doped titanium oxide powder synthesized at 700oC had embossed structure morphology with a size between 27 to 54 nm that agglomerated to produce micron size particles, as observed by the scanning electron micrographs. The XRD patterns showed that the $Er^{3+}$-$Yb^{3+}$ co-doped titanium oxide had an amorphous structure, while using the same method without doping $Er^{3+}\;or\;Yb^{3+},\;TiO_2$ was obtained in the crystallite form with thea dominance of rutile phase. Fabricating a bilayer structure consisting of nano-crystalline $TiO_2$ and the synthesized $Er^{3+}$-$Yb^{3+}$ co-doped titanium oxide showed better scattering property, with an overall increase of 15.6% in efficiency of the solar cell with respect to a single nano-crystalline $TiO_2$ layer.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2004

Zinc sulfide is a semiconductor with wide band gap and high refractive index and hence promising material to be used as ARC on commercial silicon solar cells. Uniform deposition of zinc sulfide (ZnS) by using chemical bath deposition (CBD) method over a large area of silicon surface is an emerging field of research because ZnS film can be used as a low cost antireflection coating (ARC). The main problem of the CBD bath process is the huge amount of precipitation that occurs during heterogeneous reaction leading to hamper the rate of deposition as well as uniformity and chemical stoichiometry of deposited film. Molar concentration of thiorea plays an important role in varying the percentage of reflectance and refractive index of as-deposited CBD ZnS film. Desirable rate of film deposition (19.6 ${\AA}$ / min), film uniformity (Std. dev. < 1.8), high value of refractive index (2.35), low reflectance (0.655) have been achieved with proper optimization of ZnS bath. Decrease in refractive index of CBD ZnS film due to high temperature treatment in air ambiance has been pointed out in this paper. Solar cells of conversion efficiency 13.8 ％ have been successfully achieved with a large area (103 mm ${\times}$ 103 mm) mono-crystalline silicon wafers by using CBD ZnS antireflection coating in this modified approach.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.17-22
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• 2014

The design of a fuel cells stack is important to get optimal output power. This study focuses on the evaluation of fuel cell system for unmaned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Low temperature proton exchange membrane (LTPEM) fuel cells are the most promising energy source for the robot applications because of their unique advantages such as high energy density, cold startup, and quick response during operation. In this paper, a 600 W open cathode LTPEM fuel cell was tested to evaluate the performance and to determine optimal operating conditions. The open cathode design reduces the overall size of the system to meet the requirement for robotic application. The cruise power requirement of 600 W was supported entirely by the fuel cell while the additional power requirements during takeoff was extended using a battery. A peak of power of 900 W is possible for 10 mins with a lithium polymer (LiPo) battery. The system was evaluated under various load cycles as well as start-stop cycles. The system response from no load to full load meets the robot platform requirement. The total weigh of the stack was 2 kg, while the overall system, including the fuel processing system and battery, was 4 kg.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.1-11
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• 2005

The stoichiometric mixture of evaporating materials for the $CuInSe_2$ single crystal thin film was prepared from horizontal furnace. Using extrapolation method of X-ray diffraction patterns for the polycrystal $CuInSe_2$, it was found tetragonal structure whose lattice constant $a_0$ and $c_0$ were $5.783\;{\AA}$ and $11.621\;{\AA}$, respectively. To obtain the $CuInSe_2$ single crystal thin film, $CuInSe_2$ mixed crystal was deposited on throughly etched GaAs(100) by the HWE(Hot Wall Epitaxy) system. The source and substrate temperature were $620^{\circ}C$ and $410^{\circ}C$ respectively. The crystalline structure of $CuInSe_2$ single crystal thin film was investigated by the double crystal X-ray diffraction(DCXD). Hall effect on this sample was measured by the method of Van der Pauw and studied on carrier density and mobility depending on temperature. From Hall data, the mobility was likely to be decreased by impurity scattering in the temperature range 30 K to 100 K and by lattice scattering in the temperature range 100 K to 293 K. The temperature dependence of the energy band gap of the $CuInSe_2$ obtained from the absorption spectra was well described by the Varshni's relation, $E_g(T)=1.1851\;eV-(8.99{\times}10^{-4}\;eV/K)T^2/(T+153\;K)$. The open-circuit voltage, short current density, fill factor, and conversion efficiency of $n-CdS/p-CuGaSe_2$ heterojunction solar cells under $80\;mW/cm^2$ illumination were found to be 0.51V, $29.3\;mA/cm^2$, 0.76 and 14.3 %, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.25-36
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• 2018

The stoichiometric mixture of evaporating materials for the $CaAl_2Se_4$: Co single crystal thin film was prepared from horizontal furnace. Using extrapolation method of X-ray diffraction patterns for the polycrystal $CaAl_2Se_4$, it was found orthorhomic structure whose lattice constant $a_0$, $b_0$ and $c_0$ were 6.4818, $11.1310{\AA}$ and $11.2443{\AA}$, respectively. To obtain the $CaAl_2Se_4$: Co single crystal thin film, $CaAl_2Se_4$: Co mixed crystal was deposited on throughly etched Si (100) by the HWE (Hot Wall Epitaxy) system. The source and substrate temperature were $600^{\circ}C$ and $440^{\circ}C$ respectively. The crystalline structure of $CaAl_2Se_4$: Co single crystal thin film was investigated by the double crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXD). Hall effect on this sample was measured by the method of Van der Pauw and studied on carrier density and mobility depending on temperature. From Hall data, the mobility was likely to be decreased by impurity scattering in the temperature range 30 K to 100 K and by lattice scattering in the temperature range 100 K to 293 K. The temperature dependence of the energy band gap of the $CaAl_2Se_4$: Co obtained from the absorption spectra was well described by the Varshni's relation, $E_g(T)=3.8239eV-(4.9823{\times}10^{-3}eV/K)T_2/(T+559K)$. The open-circuit voltage, short current density, fill factor, and conversion efficiency of $p-Si/p-CaAl_2Se_4$: Co heterojunction solar cells under $80mW/cm^2$ illumination were found to be 0.42 V, $25.3mA/cm^2$, 0.75 and 9.96%, respectively.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.133-141
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• 2015

Influence of Ag nanoparticles on optical and photovoltaic properties of, silicon substrates, silicon solar cells and glass have been investigated. Silver nanoparticles have been fabricated by evaporation of thin Ag layers followed by the thermal annealing. The surface plasmon resonance peak was observed in the absorbance spectrum at 470 nm of glass with deposited silver nanoparticles. It is demonstrated that deposition of silver nanoparticles on silicon substrates was accompanied with a significant decrease in reflectance at the wavelength 360-1100 nm and increase of the absorption at wavelengths close to the band gap for Si substrates. We studied influence of Ag nanoparticles on photovoltaic characteristics of silicon solar cells without and with common use antireflection coating (ARC). It is shown that silver nanoparticles deposited onto the front surface of the solar cells without ARC led to increase in the photocurrent density by 39% comparing to cells without Ag nanoparticles. Contrary to this, solar cells with Ag nanoparticles deposited on front surface with ARC discovered decrease in photocurrent density. The improved performance of investigated cells was attributed to Ag-plasmonic excitations that reduce the reflectance from the silicon surface and ultimately leads to the enhanced light absorption in the cell. This study showed possibility of application of Ag nanoparticles for the improvement of the conversion efficiency of waferbased silicon solar cells instead of usual ARC.