• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2018

Current major photovoltaic (PV) market share (> 60%) is being occupied by the multicrystalline (mc)-silicon solar cells despite of low efficiency compared to single crystalline silicon solar cells. The diamond wire sawing technology reduces the production cost of crystalline silicon solar cells, it increases the optical loss for the existing mc-silicon solar cells and hence its efficiency is low in the current mass production line. To overcome the optical loss in the mc-crystalline silicon, caused by the diamond wire sawing, next generation texturing process is being investigated by various research groups for the PV industry. In this review, the limitation of surface structure and optical loss due to the reflectivity of conventional mc-silicon solar cells are explained by the typical texturing mechanism. Various texturing technologies that could minimize the optical loss of mc-silicon solar cells are explained. Finally, next generation texturing technology to survive in the fierce cost competition of photovoltaic market is discussed.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.303-310
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• 2014

In order to reduce friction and improve reliability, researchers have applied various surface texturing methods to highly sliding machine elements such as mechanical seals and piston rings. Despite extensive theoretical research on surface texturing, previous numerical results are only applicable to isothermal and iso-viscous conditions. Because the lubricant flow pattern of textured bearing surfaces is much more complicated than that for non-textured bearings, the Navier?Stokes equation is more suitable than the Reynolds equation for the former. This study carries out a thermohydrodynamic (THD) lubrication analysis to investigate the lubrication characteristics of a single micro-dimpled parallel thrust bearing cell. The analysis involves using the continuity, Navier?Stokes, energy, temperature?viscosity relation, and heat conduction equations with the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code FLUENT. This study discretizes these equations using the finite volume method and solves them using the SIMPLE algorithm. The results include finding the streamlines, pressure and temperature distributions, and variations in the friction force and leakage for various dimple radii and depths. Increasing the dimple radius and decreasing the depth causes a recirculation flow to form because of a strong vortex, and the oil temperature greatly increases compared with the non-textured case. The present numerical scheme and results are applicable to THD analysis of various surface-textured sliding bearings and can lead to further study.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.288-295
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• 2017

In order to improve the efficiency and reliability of the machine, the friction should be minimized. The most widely used method to minimize friction is to maintain the fluid lubrication state. However, we can reduce friction only up to a certain limit because of viscosity. As a result of several recent studies, surface texturing has significantly reduced the friction in highly sliding machine elements, such as mechanical seals and thrust bearings. Thus far, theoretical studies have mainly focused on isothermal/iso-viscous conditions and have not taken into account the heat generation, caused by high viscous shear, and the temperature conditions on the bearing surface. In this study, we investigate the effect of dimple depth and film-temperature boundary conditions on the thermohydrodynamic (THD) lubrication of textured parallel slider bearings. We analyzed the continuity equation, the Navier-Stokes equation, the energy equation, and the temperature-viscosity and temperature-density relations using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, FLUENT. We compare the temperature and pressure distributions at various dimple depths. The increase in oil temperature caused by viscous shear was higher in the dimple than in the bearing outlet because of the action of the strong vortex generated in the dimple. The lubrication characteristics significantly change with variations in the dimple depths and film-temperature boundary conditions. We can use the current results as basic data for optimum surface texturing; however, further studies are required for various temperature boundary conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.345-346
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• 2013

InGaN material is being studied increasingly as a prospective material for solar cells. One of the merits for solar cell applications is that the band gap energy can be engineered from 0.7 eV for InN to 3.4 eV for GaN by varying of indium composition, which covers almost of solar spectrum from UV to IR. It is essential for better cell efficiency to improve not only the crystalline quality of the epitaxial layers but also fabrication of the solar cells. Fabrication includes transparent top electrodes and surface texturing which will improve the carrier extraction. Surface texturing is one of the most employed methods to enhance the extraction efficiency in LED fabrication and can be formed on a p-GaN surface, on an N-face of GaN, and even on an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer. Surface texturing method has also been adopted in InGaN-based solar cells and proved to enhance the efficiency. Since the texturing by direct etching of p-GaN, however, was known to induce the damage and result in degraded electrical properties, texturing has been studied widely on ITO layers. However, it is important to optimize the ITO thickness in Solar Cells applications since the reflectance is fluctuated by ITO thickness variation resulting in reduced light extraction at target wavelength. ITO texturing made by wet etching or dry etching was also revealed to increased series resistance in ITO film. In this work, we report a new way of texturing by deposition of thickness-optimized ITO films on ITO nano dots, which can further reduce the reflectance as well as electrical degradation originated from the ITO etching process.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2013.05a
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• pp.237-238
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• 2013

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.211-215
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• 2017

Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) and wet etching are employed in existing texturing processes to fabricate solar cells. Laser etching is used for particular purposes such as selective etching for grooves. However, such processes require a higher level of cost and longer processing time and those factors affect the unit cost of each process of fabricating solar cells. As a way to reduce the unit cost of this process of making solar cells, an atmospheric plasma source will be employed in this study for the texturing of crystalline silicon wafers. In this study, we produced the atmospheric plasma source and examined its basic properties. Then, using the prepared atmospheric plasma source, we performed the texturing process of crystalline silicon wafers. The results obtained from texturing processes employing the atmospheric plasma source and employing RIE were examined and compared with each other. The average reflectance of the specimens obtained from the atmospheric plasma texturing process was 7.88 %, while that of specimens obtained from the texturing process employing RIE was 8.04 %. Surface morphologies of textured wafers were examined and measured through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and similar shapes of reactive ion etched wafers were found. The Power Conversion Efficiencies (PCE) of the solar cells manufactured through each process were 16.97 % (atmospheric plasma texturing) and 16.29 % (RIE texturing).

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.2 no.5
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• pp.443-449
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• 2000

An investigation of the relative velocity of friction surface for the newly developed cone drum twister texturing mechanism is reported. The cone drum twister is one of the outer surface contacting friction-twisting devices in false-twist texturing. In this cone drum twister, a filament yam passes over the surface of the cone drum that rotates by passing the yarn without a special driving device. This research is theoretically composed of the analysis of the false twisting mechanism. The equations were derived by using the conical angle of the cone drum, projected wrapping angle, and yarn helix angle. Theoretical values of the relative velocity of friction surface were calculated and discussed. It is shown that, as the projected wrapping angle increased, the relative velocity of friction surface decreased. But as the conical angle increased the relative velocity of friction surface also increased.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.140-143
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• 2013

Lowering surface reflectance of silicon wafer by texturization is one of the most important processes to improve the efficiency of silicon solar cells. Generally, the texturing of crystalline silicon was carried out using alkaline solution. The average reflectance of this method was 11% at the wavelength between 400 and 1,000 nm. In this study, the wafers were first texturing by NaOH solution at $80^{\circ}C$ for 35 min. Then the wafers were texturing by $SF_6$ and $O_2$ plasma in RIE (Reactive Ion Etching). The average reflectance of two step texturing was reduced to below 5% at the wavelength between 400 and 1,000 nm.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.191-195
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• 2011

Wet chemical etching methods were utilized to conduct Si surface texturing, which could enhance photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation rate. Two different etching methods tested, which were anisotropic metal-catalyzed electroless etching and isotropic etching. The Si nano-texture that was fabricated by the anisotropic etching showed ~25% increase in photocurrent for H2 generation. The photocurrent enhancement was attributed to the reduced reflection loss at the nano-textured Si surface, which provided a layer of intermediate density between water and the Si substrate.

• Proceedings of the Optical Society of Korea Conference
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• 2008.02a
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• pp.95-96
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• 2008

We theoretically investigated the influence of side surface texturing on the light extraction efficiency in nitride-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The light extraction efficiency was expected as 1.2 times larger in a LED with textured surfaces compared to without ones.