• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.279-291
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• 2022

In this report the thermochemical conversion of Sm₂O₃ to SmCl₃ using AlCl₃ in LiCl-KCl melt at 773 K is discussed. The final product was a mixture of SmCl₃, Al₂O₃, unreacted Sm₂O₃ and AlCl₃ in the chloride melt. The electrochemical attributes of the mixture was analyzed with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). The crystallographic phases of the mixture were studied with X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The major chemical conversion was optimized by varying the effective parameters, such as concentrations of AlCl₃, duration of reaction and the amount of LiCl-KCl salt. The extent of conversion and qualitative assessment of efficiency of the present protocol were evaluated with fluorescence spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectrophotometry and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) studies of the mixture. Thus, a critical assessment of the thermochemical conversion efficiency was accomplished by analysing the amount of SmCl₃ in LiCl-KCl melt. In the process, a conversion efficiency of 95% was achieved by doubling the stoichiometric requirement of AlCl₃ in 50 g of LiCl-KCl salt. The conversion reaction was found to be very fast as the reaction reached equilibrium in 15 min.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.315-322
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• 2023

In the present work, we address the new route for the green synthesis of manganese dioxide (MnO₂) by an innovative method named the solution plasma process (SPP). The reaction mechanism of both colloidal and nanostructured MnO₂ was investigated. Firstly, colloidal MnO₂ was synthesized by plasma discharging in KMnO₄ aqueous solution without any additives such as reducing agents, acids, or base chemicals. As a function of the discharge time, the purple color solution of MnO₄^- (oxidation state +7) was changed to the brown color of MnO₂ (oxidation state +4) and then light yellow of Mn²⁺ (oxidation state +2). Based on the UV-vis analysis we found the optimal discharging time for the synthesis of stable colloidal MnO₂ and also reaction mechanism was verified by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) analysis. Secondly, MnO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized by SPP with a small amount of reducing sugar. The precipitation of brown color was observed after 8 min of plasma discharge and then completely separated into colorless solution and precipitation. It was confirmed layered type of nanoporous birnessite-MnO₂ by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and electron microscopes. The most important merits of this approach are environmentally friendly process within a short time compared to the conventional method. Moreover, the morphology and the microstructure could be controllable by discharge conditions for the appropriate potential applications, such as secondary batteries, supercapacitors, adsorbents, and catalysts.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.434-434
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• 2012

Despite recent efforts for fabricating flexible transparent conducting films (TCFs) with low resistance and high transmittance, several obstacles to meet the requirement of flexible displays still remain. Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films, which have been traditionally used as the TCFs, have a serious obstacle in TCFs applications. SWNTs are the most appropriate materials for conductive films for displays due to their excellent high mechanical strength and electrical conductivity. Recently, it has been demonstrated that acid treatment is an efficient method for surfactant removal. However, the treatment has been reported to destroy most SWNT. In this work, the fabrication by the spraying process of transparent SWNT films and reduction of its sheet resistance by Au-ionic doping treatment on PET substrates is researched. Arc-discharge SWNTs were dispersed in deionized water by adding sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant and sonicated, followed by the centrifugation. The dispersed SWNT was spray-coated on PET substrate and dried on a hotplate. When the spray process was terminated, the TCF was immersed into deionized water to remove the surfactant and then it was dried on hotplate. The TCF film was then was doped with Au-ionic doping treatment, rinsed with deionized water and dried. The surface morphology of TCF was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy. The sheet resistance and optical transmission properties of the TCF were measured with a four-point probe method and a UV-visible spectrometry, respectively. This was confirmed and discussed on the XPS and UPS studies. We show that 87 ${\Omega}/{\Box}$ sheet resistances with 81% transmittance at the wavelength of 550 nm. The changes in electrical and optical conductivity of SWNT film before and after Au-ionic doping treatments were discussed. The effects of hole transport interface layer using Au-ionic doping SWNT on the performance of organic solar cells were investigated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.279.2-279.2
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• 2016

InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) have been attracted much attention as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the visible and UV regions. Particularly, quantum efficiency of green LEDs is decreased dramatically as approaching to the green wavelength (~500 nm). This low efficiency has been explained by quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) induced by piezoelectric field caused from a large lattice mismatch between InGaN and GaN. To improve the quantum efficiency of green LED, several ways including epitaxial lateral overgrowth that reduces differences of lattice constant between GaN and sapphire substrates, and non-polar method that uses non- or semi-polar substrates to reduce QCSE were proposed. In this study, graded short-period InGaN/GaN superlattice (GSL) was grown below the 5-period InGaN/GaN MQWs. InGaN/GaN MQWs were grown on the patterned sapphire substrates by vertical-metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition system. Five-period InGaN/GaN MQWs without GSL structure (C-LED) were also grown to compare with an InGaN/GaN GSL sample. The luminescence properties of green InGaN/GaN LEDs have been investigated by using photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL (TRPL) measurements. The PL intensities of the GSL sample measured at 10 and 300 K increase about 1.2 and 2 times, respectively, compared to those of the C-LED sample. Furthermore, the PL decay of the GSL sample measured at 10 and 300 K becomes faster and slower than that of the C-LED sample, respectively. By inserting the GSL structures, the difference of lattice constant between GaN and sapphire substrates is reduced, resulting that the overlap between electron and hole wave functions is increased due to the reduced piezoelectric field and the reduction in dislocation density. As a results, the GSL sample exhibits the increased PL intensity and faster PL decay compared with those for the C-LED sample. These PL and TRPL results indicate that the green emission of InGaN/GaN LEDs can be improved by inserting the GSL structures.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.631-635
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• 2017

We report facile solution processing of mesoporous hematite (${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$) thin films for high efficiency solar-driven water splitting. $Fe_2O_3$ thin films were prepared on fluorine doped tin oxide(FTO) conducting substrates by spin coating of a precursor solution followed by annealing at $550^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. in air ambient. Specifically, the precursor solution was prepared by dissolving non-toxic $FeCl_3$ as an Fe source in highly versatile dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO) as a solvent. The as-deposited and annealed thin films were characterized for their morphological, structural and optical properties using field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The photoelectrochemical performance of the precursor (${\alpha}-FeOOH$) and annealed (${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$) films were characterized and it was found that the ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$ film exhibited an increased photocurrent density of ${\sim}0.78mA/cm^2$ at 1.23 V vs. RHE, which is about 3.4 times higher than that of the ${\alpha}-FeOOH$ films ($0.23mA/cm^2$ at 1.23 V vs. RHE). The improved performance can be attributed to the improved crystallinity and porosity of ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$ thin films after annealing treatment at higher temperatures. Detailed electrical characterization was further carried out to elucidate the enhanced PEC performance of ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$ thin films.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.178-183
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• 2019

A process of fabricating the foamed glass that has closed pores with 8 ~ 580 ㎛ sizes without a blowing agent by sintering 10 ㎛ boron-free glass powder composed of CaO, MgO, SO₃, Al₂O₃-83 wt% SiO₂ at a molding pressure of 0 ~ 120 MPa and a sintering temperature of 750 ~ 1000℃ was investigated. To analyze the glass transition temperature of glass powder, thermogravimetric analysis-differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA) method were used. The microstructure and pore size of foamed glass were examined using the optical microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). For the thermal diffusivity and color of the fabricated samples, a heat flow meter and ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UV-VIS-NIR)-colormetry were used, respectively. In the TGA-DTA result, the glass transition temperature of glass powder was confirmed to be 626℃. In the microstructure result, closed pores of 7 ~ 20 ㎛ were formed at 750 ~ 900℃, and they were not affected by the molding pressure and sintering temperature. However, at 1,000℃, when there was 0 MPa molding pressure, closed pores of 580 ㎛ were confirmed, and the pore size decreased as the molding pressure increased. Moreover, at a molding pressure of 30 MPa or higher, closed pores of approximately 400 ㎛ were formed. The porosity showed an increasing trend of smaller molding pressure and larger sintering temperature, and it was controllable in the range of 5.69 ~ 68.45%. In the thermal diffusivity result, there was no change according to the molding pressure, and, by increasing the sintering temperature, up to 0.115 W/m·K could be obtained. The Lab color index (CIE-Lab) results all showed a similar translucent white color regardless of molding pressure and sintering temperature. Therefore, based on the foamed glass without boron and blowing agent, it was confirmed that white foamed glass, which has closed pores of 8 ~ 580 ㎛ and a thermal diffusivity characteristic of 0.115 W/m·K, can be fabricated by changing the molding pressure and sintering temperature.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.264-264
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• 2010

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were grown on a Si wafer by using thermal chemical vapor deposition (t-CVD). We investigated the effect of the catalyst deposition rate on the types of CNTs grown on the substrate. In general, smaller islands of catalyst occur by agglomeration of a catalyst layer upon annealing as the catalyst layer becomes thinner, which results in the growth of CNTs with smaller diameters. For the same thickness of catalyst, a slower deposition rate will cause a more uniformly thin catalyst layer, which will be agglomerated during annealing, producing smaller catalyst islands. Thus, we can expect that the smaller-diameter CNTs will grow on the catalyst deposited with a lower rate even for the same thickness of catalyst. The 0.5-nm-thick Fe served as a catalyst, underneath which Al was coated as a catalyst support as well as a diffusion barrier on the Si substrate. The catalyst layers were. coated by using thermal evaporation. The deposition rates of the Al and Fe layers varied to be 90, 180 sec/nm and 70, 140 sec/nm, respectively. We prepared the four different combinations of the deposition rates of the AI and Fe layers. CNTs were synthesized for 10 min by flowing 60 sccm of Ar and 60 sccm of $H_2$ as a carrier gas and 20 sccm of $C_2H_2$ as a feedstock at 95 torr and $810^{\circ}C$. The substrates were subject to annealing for 20 sec for every case to form small catalyst islands prior to CNT growth. As-grown CNTs were characterized by using field emission scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis NIR spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The fast deposition of both the Al and Fe layers gave rise to the growth of thin multiwalled CNTs with the height of ${\sim}680\;{\mu}m$ for 10 min while the slow deposition caused the growth of ${\sim}800\;{\mu}m$ high SWCNTs. Several radial breathing mode (RBM) peaks in the Raman spectra were observed at the Raman shifts of $113.3{\sim}281.3\;cm^{-1}$, implying the presence of SWCNTs (or double-walled CNTs) with the tube diameters 2.07~0.83 nm. The Raman spectra of the as-grown SWCNTs showed very low G/D peak intensity ratios, indicating their low defect concentrations.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.23-27
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• 2008

We have investigated the effect of annealing on the structural and optical properties of polycrystalline Ga doped ZnO (GZO) films grown on glass substrates by RF-magnetron sputter at room temperature. The structural and optical properties of as-grown GZO films were characterized and then samples were annealed at $400{\sim}600^{\circ}C$ in $N_2$ ambient for 30, 60 minutes, respectively. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to measure the grain size and the crystalline quality of the films. We found that the crystalline quality was improved and the grain size tends to be increased. The optical properties of GZO thin films were analyzed by UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometers. It is found that optical properties of thin films are increased by annealing and can be used for transparent electrode application. We believe that the appropriate post-growth heat treatment could be contributed to the improvement of GZO-based devices.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.454-454
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• 2014

Silicon microwire array is one of the promising platforms as a means for developing highly efficient solar cells thanks to the enhanced light trapping efficiency. Among the various fabrication methods of microstructures, deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) process has been extensively used in fabrication of high aspect ratio microwire arrays. In this presentation, we show precisely controlled Si microwire arrays by tuning the DRIE process conditions. A periodic microdisk arrays were patterned on 4-inch Si wafer (p-type, $1{\sim}10{\Omega}cm$) using photolithography. After developing the pattern, 150-nm-thick Al was deposited and lifted-off to leave Al microdisk arrays on the starting Si wafer. Periodic Al microdisk arrays (diameter of $2{\mu}m$ and periodic distance of $2{\mu}m$) were used as an etch mask. A DRIE process (Tegal 200) is used for anisotropic deep silicon etching at room temperature. During the process, $SF_6$ and $C_4F_8$ gases were used for the etching and surface passivation, respectively. The length and shape of microwire arrays were controlled by etching time and $SF_6/C_4F_8$ ratio. By adjusting $SF_6/C_4F_8$ gas ratio, the shape of Si microwire can be controlled, resulting in the formation of tapered or vertical microwires. After DRIE process, the residual polymer and etching damage on the surface of the microwires were removed using piranha solution ($H_2SO_4:H_2O_2=4:1$) followed by thermal oxidation ($900^{\circ}C$, 40 min). The oxide layer formed through the thermal oxidation was etched by diluted hydrofluoric acid (1 wt% HF). The surface morphology of a Si microwire arrays was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM, Hitachi S-4800). Optical reflection measurements were performed over 300~1100 nm wavelengths using a UV-Vis/NIR spectrophotometer (Cary 5000, Agilent) in which a 60 mm integrating sphere (Labsphere) is equipped to account for total light (diffuse and specular) reflected from the samples. The total reflection by the microwire arrays sample was reduced from 20 % to 10 % of the incident light over the visible region when the length of the microwire was increased from $10{\mu}m$ to $30{\mu}m$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2000.02a
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• pp.126-126
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• 2000

다이아몬드상 카본(DLC) 필름은 경도가 높고, 마찰계수가 낮다는 장점을 가지고 있기 때문에 내마모성 코팅이나 윤활성코팅에 응용을 위한 연구가 활발히 진행중이다. 하지만 마찰계수가 주변환경에 매우 큰 영향을 받는다는 단점이 있다. 이러한 단점은 DLC필름의 응용에 대한 저해 요인이 되며, 이 점을 보완하기 위해서 DLC 필름에 Si을 첨가하는 연구들이 진행되고 있다. 본 실험에서는 r.f-PACVD 법을 이용하여 Si이 첨가된 DLC 필름의 주위 환경 변화에 따른 마찰특성의 변화를 연구하였다. 사용한 반응 가스는 벤젠(C6H)과 희석된 Silane(SiH4 : H2 = 10 : 90)이며, 희석된 Silane과 벤젠의 첨가비율을 조절하여 필름내 Si의 함량을 조절하였고, 증착시 바이아스의 전압은 -400V로 하였다. 마찰테스트는 Ball-on-Disk type의 조건에서 대기, 건조공기, 진공의 세가지 분위기에서 마찰테스트를 실행하였다. 실험결과 마찰계수는 건조공기, 대기, 진공의 순으로 증가하였고, 필름내에 포함되어 있는 Si의 양이 증가할수록 마찰계수는 낮고 안정한 값을 나타내었다. Tribochemiacal 분석과, ball과 track의 전자현미경 사진 분석 결과, 진공에 비해서 건조공기와 대기중에서 마찰계수가 낮은 것은 DLC 필름내에 마모 track 중심부에 Si-C-O 계의 화합물이 형성되어, 이 화합물이 마찰계면에 존재하여 마찰계수를 낮추었음을 확인하였다. 그리고 대기중에서 실험한 경우, 습기의 존재로 인해 마모입자가 볼의 표면에서 엉김으로써 건조공기의 상태에서 보다 높은 마찰저항을 갖게 됨으로 인하여 마찰계수가 높아짐을 알 수 있었다.a)는 as-deposit 상태이며, 그림 1(b)는 45$0^{\circ}C$, 60min 열처리한 plan-view TEM 사진이다.dical의 영향을 조사하였으며 oxygen radical의 rf power에 따른 변화는 OES(Optical emission spectroscopy)를 사용하였다. 너무 적은 oxygen ion beam flux나 oxygen radical은 film의 전도도 및 투과도를 저하시켰고 반면 너무 과도한 flux의 증가 시는 전도도는 감소하였고 투과도는 증가하는 경향을 보였다. 기판에 도달하는 oxygen ion flux는 faraday cup을 이용하여 측정하였으며 증착된 ITO film은 XPS, UV-spectrometer, 4-point probe를 이용하여 분석하였다. 때문으로 생각되어진다. 또한, 성장 온도가 낮아짐에 따라 AlGaN의 성장을 저해하기 때문으로 판단된다. 성장 온도 변화에 따라 성장된 V의 구조적 특성 및 표면 거칠기 변화를 관찰하여 AlGaN의 성장 거동을 논의하겠다.034, 0.005 정도로 다시 감소하였다. 박막의 유전율은 약 35 정도의 값을 나타내었으며 X-선 회절 data로부터 분석한 박막의 변형은 증온도에 따라 7.2%에서 0.04%로 감소하였고 이 이경향은 유전손실은 감소경향과 일치하였다.는 현저하게 향상되었다. 그 원인은 SB power의 인가에 의해 활성화된 precursor 분자들이 큰 에너지를 가지고 기판에 유입되어 치밀한 박막이 형성되었기 때문으로 사료된다.을수 있었다.보았다.다.다양한 기능을 가진 신소재 제조에 있다. 또한 경제적인 측면에서도 고부가 가치의 제품