• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.64-72
• /
• 2006

We demonstrated organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) based on the organic thin-film materials such as tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum $(Alq_3)$. The structure of OLEDs was vacuum deposited upon transparent and thin glass substrates pre-coated with a transparent, conducting indium tin oxide thin film. The luminance characteristics, current, capacitance, and dispersion factor for degraded OLEDs, which were made by various bias currents $(0.5mA\;{\leq}\;I_{Bias}\;{\leq}9mA)$, are studied. The current dependences of lifetime were divided at approximately 2mA, and they represented nearly linear behaviors but had different slopes in a logarithmic plot of lifetime versus bias current. With lighting OLEDs, the anomaly of capacitance, as shown in the CV curve, occurred because of two factors, polarization in the bulk of organic materials and the interface between the metal and organic layers. In decayed OLEDs that had lower bias currents of less than 2mA, it was found that the degradation of luminance was related to both the decrease of polarization and to the lowering of the injection barrier.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.39-43
• /
• 2011

This study has lowered the specific resistance by coating a thin film layer of Ag, playing the role of the electron donor on the ZnO that is used usefully for the transparent conductive oxides. Presently, this study has examined the transmittance and electric characteristics according to the thickness of the Ag thin film layer. Also, this study has observed the transmittance and electric characteristics according to the uppermost ZnO thin film layer of ZnO/Ag/ZnO symmetric film and has conducted the theoretical investigation. In order to observe the transmittance and electric characteristics according to the thickness of the Ag thin film layer and the uppermost ZnO thin film layer, this study conducted the film deposition at room temperature while making use of the DC magnetron sputtering system. In order to see the changes in the thickness of the Ag thin film layer, this study coated a thin film while increasing by 4nm; and, in order to see the changes in the thickness of uppermost ZnO thin film layer, it performed the thin film coating by increasing by 5nm. From the experimental result, the researchers observed that the best transmittance could be obtained when the thickness of the Ag thin film layer was 8nm, but the resistance and mobility increased as the thickness got larger. On the other hand, when the thickness of the uppermost ZnO thin film layer was 20nm, the experiment yielded the best transmittance with excellent electric characteristics. Also, when compared the ZnO/Ag asymmetric film with the ZnO/Ag/ZnO symmetric film, the ZnO/Ag asymmetric film showed better transmittance and electric characteristics.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.155-160
• /
• 2013

ZnO thin films co-doped with Mg and Ga (MxGyZzO, x + y + z = 1, x = 0.05, y = 0.02 and z = 0.93) were prepared on glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering with different sputtering powers ranging from 100W to 200W at a substrate temperature of $350^{\circ}C$. The effects of the sputtering power on the structural, morphological, electrical, and optical properties of MGZO thin films were investigated. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed that all the MGZO thin films were grown as a hexagonal wurtzite phase with the preferred orientation on the c-axis without secondary phases such as MgO, $Ga_2O_3$, or $ZnGa_2O_4$. The intensity of the diffraction peak from the (0002) plane of the MGZO thin films was enhanced as the sputtering power increased. The (0002) peak positions of the MGZO thin films was shifted toward, a high diffraction angle as the sputtering power increased. Cross-sectional field emission scanning electron microscopy images of the MGZO thin films showed that all of these films had a columnar structure and their thickness increased with an increase in the sputtering power. MGZO thin film deposited at the sputtering power of 200W showed the best electrical characteristics in terms of the carrier concentration ($4.71{\times}10^{20}cm^{-3}$), charge carrier mobility ($10.2cm^2V^{-1}s^{-1}$) and a minimum resistivity ($1.3{\times}10^{-3}{\Omega}cm$). A UV-visible spectroscopy assessment showed that the MGZO thin films had high transmittance of more than 80 % in the visible region and that the absorption edges of MGZO thin films were very sharp and shifted toward the higher wavelength side, from 270 nm to 340 nm, with an increase in the sputtering power. The band-gap energy of MGZO thin films was widened from 3.74 eV to 3.92 eV with the change in the sputtering power.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.447-454
• /
• 2014

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have intensively studied in recent years due to their advantages such as cost effectiveness and possibility of applications in flexible devices. In spite of the high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10 %, the OSCs still have a draw back of their low environmental stability due to the oxidization of aluminum cathode and etching of transparent conducting oxide as electrode. To solve these problems, the inverted structured OSCs (I-OSCs) having greatest potential for achieving an improvement of device performances are suggested. Therefore, there are a lot of studies to develope of interface layer based on organic/inorganic materials for the electron transport layer (ETL) and passivation layer, significant advancements in I-OSCs have driven the development of interface functional materials including electron transport layer. Recent efforts to employing 2D/3D zinc oxide (ZnO) based ETL into I-OSCs have produced OSCs with a power conversion efficiency level that matches the efficiency of ~9 %. In this review, the technical issues and recent progress of ZnO based ETL in I-OSCs to enhancement of device efficiency and stability in terms of materials, process and characterization have summarized.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2014.02a
• /
• pp.463-463
• /
• 2014

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have generated a strong interest in the development of solid-state devices owing to their low cost and simple preparation procedures. Effort has been devoted to the study of electrolytes that allow light-to-electrical power conversion for DSSC applications. Several attempts have been made to substitute the liquid electrolyte in the original solar cells by using (2,2',7,7'-tetrakis (N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9-9'-spirobi-fluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) that act as hole conductor [1]. Although efficiencies above 3% have been reached by several groups, here the major challenging is limited photoelectrode thickness ($2{\mu}m$), which is very low due to electron diffusion length (Ln) for spiro-OMeTAD ($4.4{\mu}m$) [2]. In principle, the $TiO_2$ layer can be thicker than had been thought previously. This has important implications for the design of high-efficiency solid-state DSSCs. In the present study, we have fabricated 3-D Transparent Conducting Oxide (TCO) by growing tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanowire (NWs) arrays via a vapor transport method [3] and mesoporous $TiO_2$ nanoparticle (NP)-based photoelectrodes were prepared using doctor blade method. Finally optimized light-harvesting solid-state DSSCs is made using 3-D TCO where electron life time is controlled the recombination rate through fast charge collection and also ITO NWs length can be controlled in the range of over $2{\mu}m$ and has been characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Structural analyses by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) results reveal that the ITO NWs formed single crystal oriented [100] direction. Also to compare the charge collection properties of conventional NPs based solid-state DSSCs with ITO NWs based solid-state DSSCs, we have studied intensity modulated photovoltage spectroscopy (IMVS), intensity modulated photocurrent spectroscopy (IMPS) and transient open circuit voltages. As a result, above $4{\mu}m$ thick ITO NWs based photoelectrodes with Z907 dye shown the best performing device, exhibiting a short-circuit current density of 7.21 mA cm-2 under simulated solar emission of 100 mW cm-2 associated with an overall power conversion efficiency of 2.80 %. Finally, we achieved the efficiency of 7.5% by applying a CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite sensitizer.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.94-101
• /
• 2023

Zinc oxide(ZnO) is a semiconductor material with a bandgap of 3.37 eV and an exciton binding energy of 60 meV for various applications. Recently ZnO has been proven to enhance its electrical properties for utilization as an alternative for transparent conducting oxide (TCO) materials. In this study, cation(Al, Ga)-anion(F) single and double doped ZnO thin films were grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) to enhance the electrical properties. The structural and optical properties of doped ZnO thin films were analyzed, and doping effects were confirmed to electrical characteristics. In single doped ZnO, it was observed that the carrier concentration was increased after doping, acting as a donor to ZnO. Among the single doping elements, F doped ZnO(FZO) showed the highest mobility and conductivity due to the passivation effect of oxygen vacancies. In the case of double doping, higher electrical characteristics were observed compared to single doping. Among the samples, Al-F doped ZnO(AFZO) exhibited the lowest resistance value. This results can be attributed to an increase in delocalized electron states and a decrease in lattice distortion resulting from the differences in ionic radius. The partial density of states(PDOS) was also analyzed and observed to be consistent with the experimental results.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2010.06a
• /
• pp.87-87
• /
• 2010

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems are promising methods of producing H2 gas using solar energy in an aqueous solution. The photoelectrochemical properties of numerous metal oxides have been studied. Among them, the PEC systems based on TiO2 have been extensively studied. However, the drawback of a PEC system with TiO2 is that only ultraviolet (UV) light can be absorbed because of its large band gap (3.2 - 3.4 eV). Two approaches have been introduced in order to use PEC cells in the visible light region. The first method includes doping impurities, such as nitrogen, into TiO2, and this technique has been extensively studied in an attempt to narrow the band gap. In comparison, research on the second method, which includes visible light water splitting in molecular photosystems, has been slow. Mallouk et al. recently developed electrochemical water-splitting cells using the Ru(II) complex as the visible light photosensitizer. the dye-sensitized PEC cell consisted of a dye-sensitized TiO2 layer, a Pt counter electrode, and an aqueous solution between them. Under a visible light (< 3 eV) illumination, only the dye molecule absorbed the light and became excited because TiO2 had the wide band gap. The light absorption of the dye was followed by the transfer of an electron from the excited state (S*) of the dye to the conduction band (CB) of TiO2 and its subsequent transfer to the transparent conducting oxide (TCO). The electrons moved through the wire to the Pt, where the water reduction (or H2 evolution) occurred. The oxidized dye molecules caused the water oxidation because their HOMO level was below the H2O/O2 level. Organic dyes have been developed as metal-free alternatives to the Ru(II) complexes because of their tunable optical and electronic properties and low-cost manufacturing. Recently, organic dye molecules containing multi-branched, multi-anchoring groups have received a great deal of interest. In this work, tri-branched tri-anchoring organic dyes (Dye 2) were designed and applied to visible light water-splitting cells based on dye-sensitized TiO2 electrodes. Dye 2 had a molecular structure containing one donor (D) and three acceptor (A) groups, and each ended with an anchoring functionality. In comparison, mono-anchoring dyes (Dye 1) were also synthesized. The PEC response of the Dye 2-sensitized TiO2 film was much better than the Dye 1-sensitized or unsensitized TiO2 films.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2010.06a
• /
• pp.95.1-95.1
• /
• 2010

Transparent conducting ZnO films were deposited to apply DSSC Substrate on glass substrates at $500^{\circ}C$ by ionbeam-assisted deposition. Crystallinity, microstructure, surface roughness, chemical composition, electrical and optical properties of the films were investigated as a function of deposition parameters such as ion energy, and substrate temperature. The microstructure of the polycrystalline ZnO films on the glass substrate were closely related to the oxygen ion energy, arrival ratio of oxygen to Zinc Ion bombarded on the growing surface. The main effect of energetic ion bombardment on the growing surface of the film may be divided into two categories; 1) the enhancement of adatom mobility at low energetic ion bombardment and 2) the surface damage by radiation damage at high energetic ion bombardment. The domain structure was obtained in the films deposited at 300 eV. With increasing the ion energy to 600 eV, the domain structure was changed into the grain structure. In case of the low energy ion bombardment of 300 eV, the microstructure of the film was changed from the grain structure to the domain structure with increasing arrival ratio. At the high energy ion bombardment of 600 eV, however, the only grain structure was observed. The electrical properties of the deposited films were significantly related to the change of microstructure. The films with the domain structure had larger carrier concentration and mobility than those with the grain structure, because the grain boundary scattering was reduced in the large size domains compared with the small size grains. The optical transmittance of ZnO films was dependent on a surface roughness. The ZnO films with small surface roughness, represented high transmittance in the visible range because of a decreased light surface scattering. By varying the ion energy and arrival ratio, the resistivity and optical transmittance of the films were varied from $1.1{\times}10^{-4}$ to $2.3{\times}10^{-2}{\Omega}cm$ and from 80 to 87%, respectively. The ZnO film deposited at 300 eV, and substrate temperature of $500^{\circ}C$ had the resistivity of $1.1{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}cm$ and optical transmittance of 85% in visible range. As a result of experiments, we provides a suggestition that ZnO thin Films can be effectively used as the DSSC substrate Materials.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.356-360
• /
• 2011

Indium oxide ($In_2O_3$) single layer and $In_2O_3$/copper (Cu) bi-layer films were prepared on glass substrates by RF and DC magnetron sputtering without intentional substrate heating. In order to determine the effect of the Cu bottom layer on the optical, electrical and structural properties of $In_2O_3$ films, 3-nm-thick Cu film was deposited on the glass substrate prior to deposition of the $In_2O_3$ films. As-deposited $In_2O_3$ films had an optical transmittance of 79% in the visible wavelength region and a sheet resistance of 2,300 ${\Omega}/{\square}$, while the $In_2O_3$/Cu film had optical and electrical properties that were influenced by the Cu bottom layer. $In_2O_3$/Cu films had a lower sheet resistance of 110 ${\Omega}/{\square}$ and an optical transmittance of 71%. Based on the figure of merit, it can be concluded that the Cu bottom layer effectively increases the performance of $In_2O_3$ films for use as transparent conducting oxides in flexible display applications.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
• /
• 2018.06a
• /
• pp.142.2-142.2
• /
• 2018

One-dimensional metal oxide nanostructures have attracted considerable research activities owing to their strong application potential as components for nanosize electronic or optoelectronic devices utilizing superior optical and electrical properties. In which, semiconducting $SnO_2$ material with wide-bandgap Eg = 3.6 eV at room temperature, is one of the attractive candidates for optoelectronic devices operating at room temperature [1, 2], gas sensor [3, 4], and transparent conducting electrodes [5]. The synthesis and gas sensing properties of semiconducting $SnO_2$ nanomaterials have become one of important research issues since the first synthesis of SnO2 nanowires. In this study, $SnO_2$ nanowire networks were synthesized on a basis of a two-step process. In step 1, Sn spheres (30-800 nm in diameter) embedded in $SiO_2$ on a Si substrate was synthesized by a chemical vapor deposition method at $700^{\circ}C$. In step 2, using the source of these Sn spheres, $SnO_2$ nanowire (20-40 nm in diameter; $1-10{\mu}m$ in length) networks on a spherical Sn surface were synthesized by a thermal oxidation method at $800^{\circ}C$. The Au layers were pre-deposited on the surface of Sn spherical and subsequently oxidized Sn surface of Sn spherical formed SnO2 nanowires networks. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images indicated that $SnO_2$ nanowires are single crystalline. In addition, the $SnO_2$ nanowire is also a tetragonal rutile, with the preferred growth directions along [100] and a lattice spacing of 0.237 nm. Subsequently, the $NO_2$ sensing properties of the $SnO_2$ network nanowires sensor at an operating temperature of $50-250^{\circ}C$ were examined, and showed a reversible response to $NO_2$ at various $NO_2$ concentrations. Finally, details of the growth mechanism and formation of Sn spheres and $SnO_2$ nanowire networks are also discussed.