• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.412-417
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• 2010

Mo thin films were used for the back electrode because of the low resistivity in the Mo/$CuInGaSe_2$ contact in chalcopyrite solar cells. $1\;{\mu}m$ thick Mo thin films were deposited on soda lime glass by varying the Ar pressure with the dc-magnetron sputtering process. The effects of the Ar pressure on the morphology of the Mo back electrode were studied and the relationships between the morphology and electro-optical properties, namely, the resistivity as well as the reflectance of the Mo thin films, were investigated. The resitivity increased from $24\;{\mu}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ to $11833\;{\mu}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$; this was caused by the increased surface defect and low crystallinity as the Ar pressure increased from $3{\times}10^{-3}$ to $3{\times}10^{-2}\;Torr$. The surface morphologies of the Mo thin films changed from somewhat coarse fibrous structures to irregular and fine celled structures with increased surface cracks along the cell boundaries, as the Ar pressure increased from $3{\times}10^{-3}$ to $3{\times}10^{-2}\;Torr$. The changes of reflectances in the visible light range with Ar pressures were mainly attributed to the surface morphological changes of the Mo thin films. The reflectance in the visible light range showed the highest value of 45% at $3{\times}10^{-3}\;Torr$ and decreased to 18.5% at $3{\times}10^{-2}\;Torr$.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.715-719
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• 2009

The phase change electrode board for the bio-information detection through electrical property response of phase change material was developed in this study. We manufactured the electrode board using Aluminum first that is widely used in conventional semiconductor device process. Without further treatment, these aluminum electrodes tend to contain voids in PETEOS(plasma enhanced tetraethyoxysilane) material that are easily detected by cross-sectional SEM(Scanning Electron Microscope). The voids can be easily attacked and transformed into holes in between PETEOS and electrodes after etch back and washing process. In order to resolve this issue of Al electrode board, we developed a electrode board manufacturing method using low resistivity TiN, which has advantages in terms of the step-coverage of phase change($Ge_2Sb_2Te_5$, GST) thin film as well as thermodynamic stability, without etch back and washing process. This TiN material serves as the top and bottom electrode in PRAM(Phase-change Random Access Memory). The good connection between the TiN electrode and GST thin film was confirmed by observing the cross-section of TiN electrode board using SEM. The resistances of amorphous and crystalline GST thin film on TiN electrodes were also measured, and 1000 times difference between the amorphous and crystalline resistance of GST thin film was obtained, which is well enough for the signal detection.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.274-278
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• 2004

In this study, hetero-electrode structures have been fabricated to increase luminescence efficiency. The presence of a thin layer of Sn or Ag at the organic-aluminum interface enhanced both electron injection efficiency and electroluminescence when compared to OLEDs using homogeneous electrode. In this paper, the effect of the cathode using Sn/Al hetero electrode structure is observed. Electric properties of the OLED using Sn/Al hetero cathode are improved in comparison of only Al cathode. The hetero-electrode existing different energy level induces the advanced structure of OLED can accumulate electron density. The luminescence efficiency of OLED with Sn/Al of Ag/Al cathode is higher because of their higher electron injection efficiency. And, the turn on voltage of the OLED device using Sn thin layer is lowest as about 10 V.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.86-92
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• 2024

Flexible electronic devices are exposed to repeated mechanical deformation; therefore, electrode performance is an important element. Recently, a new technology has been developed to improve the adhesion strength between polymer substrates and metal thin films through the cross-linking reaction of bovine serum albumin (BSA) bioconjugation proteins; however, additional performance evaluation as an electrode is necessary. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of adhesive strength between a flexible substrate and a metal thin film on the performance of a flexible electrode. Cracks and changes in the electrical resistance of the electrode surface were observed through outer bending fatigue tests and tensile tests. As a result of a bending fatigue test of 50,000 cycles and a tensile test at 10% strain, the change in the electrical resistance of the flexible electrode with a high adhesion strength was less than 40%, and only a few microcracks were formed on the surface; thus, the electrical performance did not significantly deteriorate. Through this study, the relationship between the adhesion strength and electrical performance was identified. This study will provide useful information for analyzing the performance of flexible electrodes in the commercialization of flexible electronic devices in the future.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.495-500
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• 2013

Mo-based thin films are frequently used as back electrode materials because of their low resistivity and high crystallinity in CIGS chalcopyrite solar cells. Mo:Na/Mo bilayer thin films with $1{\mu}m$ thickness were deposited on soda lime glass by varying the thickness of each layer using dc-magnetron sputtering. The effects of the Mo:Na layer on morphology and electrical property in terms of resistivity were systematically investigated. The resistivity increased from $159{\mu}{\Omega}cm$ to $944{\mu}{\Omega}cm$; this seemed to be caused by increased surface defects and low crystallinity as the thickness of Mo:Na layer increased from 100 nm to 500 nm. The surface morphologies of the Mo thin films changed from a somewhat coarse fibrous structures to irregular and fine celled structures with increased surface cracks along the cell boundaries as the thickness of Mo:Na layer increased. Na contents varied drastically from 0.03 % to 0.52 % according to the variation of Mo:Na layer thickness. The change in Na content may be ascribed to changes in surface morphology and crystallinity of the thin films.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2004.04b
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• pp.101-104
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• 2004

In this study AlN/Al thin films were prepared at various conditions, such as $N_2$ gas flow rate $[N_2/(N_2+Ar)]$ from 0.6 to 0.9, a substrate temperature ranging from room temperature to $300^{\circ}C$ and working pressure 1mTorr. We estimated crystallographic characteristics and c-axis preferred orientations of AlN/Al thin films as function of Al electrode surface roughfness. The optimal processing conditions for Al electrode were found at substrate temperature of $300^{\circ}C$, sputtering power of 100W and a working pressure of 2mTorr. In these conditions, we obtained the c-axis preferred orientation of $AlN/Al/SiO_2/Si$ thin film about 4 degree.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.131-135
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• 2020

Silver nanowire (AgNW) networks have been adopted as a front electrode in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin film solar cells due to their low cost and compatibility with the solution process. When an AgNW network is applied to a CIGS thin film solar cell, reflection loss can increase because the CdS layer, with a relatively high refractive index (n ~ 2.5 at 550 nm), is exposed to air. To resolve the issue, we apply solution-processed ZnO nanorods to the AgNW network as an anti-reflective coating. To obtain high performance of the optical and electrical properties of the ZnO nanorod and AgNW network composite, we optimize the process parameters - the spin coating of AgNWs and the concentration of zinc nitrate and hexamethylene tetramine (HMT - to fabricate ZnO nanorods. We verify that 10 mM of zinc nitrate and HMT show the lowest reflectance and 10% cell efficiency increase when applied to CIGS thin film solar cells.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.294-297
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• 2011

Quality of PEDOT electrode thin film vapor phase-polymerized on 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) self-assembled monolayer (SAM) is very crucial for making an ohmic contact between electrode and semiconductor layer of an organic transistor. In order to improve the quality of PEDOT film, the quality of APS-SAM laying underneath the film must be in the best condition. In this study, in order to improve the quality of APS-SAM, the monolayer was self-assembled on $SiO_2$ surface by a dip-coating method under strictly controlled relative humidity (< 18%RH). The quality of APS-SAM and PEDOT thin film were investigated with a contact angle analyzer, AFM, FE-SEM, and four-point probe. The investigation showed that a PEDOT film grown on the humidity-controlled SAM is very smooth and compact (sheet resistivity = 20.2 Ohm/sq) while a film grown under the uncontrolled condition is nearly amorphous and contains quite many pores (sheet resistivity = 200 Ohm/sq). Therefore, this study clearly proves that a highly improved quality of APSSAM can offer a highly conductive PEDOT electrode thin film on it.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics D
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• v.35D no.10
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• pp.83-90
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• 1998

The effects of dopant activation anneal on GOI (Gate Oxide Integrity) of MOS capacitor with amorphous silicon gate electrode were investigated. It was found that the amorphous silicon gate electrode was crystallized and the dopant atoms were sufficiently activated by activation anneal. The mechanical stress of gate electrode that reveals large compressive stress in amorphous state, was released with increase of anneal temperature from $700^{\circ}C$ to 90$0^{\circ}C$. The resistivity of gate electrode polycrystalline silicon film is decreased by the increase of anneal temperature. The reliability of thin gate oxide and interface properties between oxide and silicon substrate greatly depends on the activation anneal temperature. The charge trapping characteristics as well as oxide reliability are improved by the anneal of 90$0^{\circ}C$ compare to that of $700^{\circ}C$ or 80$0^{\circ}C$. Especially, the lifetimes of the thin gate oxide estimated by TDDB method is 3$\times$10$^{10}$ for the case of $700^{\circ}C$ anneal, is significantly increased to 2$\times$10$^{12}$ for the case of 90$0^{\circ}C$ anneal. Finally, the interface trap density is reduced with relaxation of mechanical stress of gate electrode.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.202-206
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• 2011

We have investigated the structural and electrical properties of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films deposited by an RF magnetron sputtering at various RF powers from 50 to 90W. All the GZO thin films are grown as a hexagonal wurtzite phase with highly c-axis preferred parameters. The structural and electrical properties are strongly related to the RF power. The grain size increases as the RF power increases since the columnar growth of GZO thin film is enhanced at an elevated RF power. This result means that the crystallinity of GZO is improved as the RF power increases. The resistivity of GZO rapidly decreases as the RF power increases up to 70 W and saturates to 90W. In contrast, the electron concentration of GZO increases as the RF power increases up to 70 W and saturates to 90W. GZO thin film shows the lowest resistivity of $2.2{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}cm$ and the highest electron concentration of $1.7{\times}10^{21}cm^{-3}$ at 90W. The mobility of GZO increases as the RF power increases since the grain boundary scattering decreases due to the reduced density of the grain boundary at a high RF power. The transmittance of GZO thin films in the visible range is above 90%. GZO is a feasible transparent electrode for application as a transparent electrode for thin film solar cells.