• 한국재료학회지
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• 제30권10호
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• pp.566-572
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• 2020

In the recent years, thin film solar cells (TFSCs) have emerged as a viable replacement for crystalline silicon solar cells and offer a variety of choices, particularly in terms of synthesis processes and substrates (rigid or flexible, metal or insulator). Among the thin-film absorber materials, SnS has great potential for the manufacturing of low-cost TFSCs due to its suitable optical and electrical properties, non-toxic nature, and earth abundancy. However, the efficiency of SnS-based solar cells is found to be in the range of 1 ~ 4 % and remains far below those of CdTe-, CIGS-, and CZTSSe-based TFSCs. Aside from the improvement in the physical properties of absorber layer, enormous efforts have been focused on the development of suitable buffer layer for SnS-based solar cells. Herein, we investigate the device performance of SnS-based TFSCs by introducing double buffer layers, in which CdS is applied as first buffer layer and ZnMgO films is employed as second buffer layer. The effect of the composition ratio (Mg/(Mg+Zn)) of RF sputtered ZnMgO films on the device performance is studied. The structural and optical properties of ZnMgO films with various Mg/(Mg+Zn) ratios are also analyzed systemically. The fabricated SnS-based TFSCs with device structure of SLG/Mo/SnS/CdS/ZnMgO/AZO/Al exhibit a highest cell efficiency of 1.84 % along with open-circuit voltage of 0.302 V, short-circuit current density of 13.55 mA cm^-2, and fill factor of 0.45 with an optimum Mg/(Mg + Zn) ratio of 0.02.

• 열처리공학회지
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• 제31권3호
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• pp.111-119
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• 2018

We report the post-annealing effect of Sn doped ZnO (ZnO:Sn) thin film grown on sapphire (001) substrate using radio-frequency powder sputtering method. During thermal annealing in a vacuum atmosphere, the ZnO:Sn thin film is transformed into a porous thin film. Based on X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray analyses, a possible mechanism for the production of pores is presented. Sn atoms segregate to form clusters that act as catalysts to dissociate Zn-O bonds. The Zn and O atoms subsequently vaporize, leading to the formation of pores in the ZnO:Sn thin film. We also found that Sn clusters were oxidized to form SnO or $SnO_2$ phases.

• 한국전기전자재료학회논문지
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• 제31권7호
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• pp.481-485
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• 2018

In this study, oxide/metal/oxide-type transparent electrodes based on Al and ZnO were investigated. Thin films of these materials were sputter-deposited at room temperature. To evaluate the thickness dependence of the oxide layers, the top and bottom ZnO layers were varied in the range of 5~80 nm and 2.5~20 nm, respectively. When the thicknesses of the top and bottom ZnO layers were fixed at 30 nm and 2.5 nm, a maximum transmitance of 66% and sheet resistance of $16.5{\Omega}/{\square}$ were achieved, which is significantly improved compared with the Al layer without top and bottom ZnO layers showing a maximum transmitance of 44.3% and sheet resistance of $44{\Omega}/{\square}$.

• 한국전기전자재료학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국전기전자재료학회 2008년도 추계학술대회 논문집 Vol.21
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• pp.11-11
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• 2008

ZnO has a very large exciton binding energy (60 meV) as well as thermal and chemical stability, which are expected to allow efficient excitonic emission, even at room temperature. ZnO based electronic devices have attracted increasing interest as the backplanes for applications in the next-generation displays, such as active-matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs) and active-matrix organic light emitting diodes (AMOLEDs), and in solid state lighting systems as a substitution for GaN based light emitting diodes (LEDs). Most of these electronic devices employ the electrical behavior of n-type semiconducting active oxides due to the difficulty in obtaining a p-type film with long-term stability and high performance. p-type ZnO films can be produced by substituting group V elements (N, P, and As) for the O sites or group I elements (Li, Na, and K) for Zn sites. However, the achievement of p-type ZnO is a difficult task due to self-compensation induced from intrinsic donor defects, such as O vacancies (Vo) and Zn interstitials ($Zn_i$), or an unintentional extrinsic donor such as H. Phosphorus (P) doped ZnO thin films were grown on c-sapphire substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering with various Ar/ $O_2$ gas ratios. Control of the electrical types in the P-doped ZnO films was achieved by varying the gas ratio with out post-annealing. The P-doped ZnO films grown at a Ar/ $O_2$ ratio of 3/1 showed p-type conductivity with a hole concentration and hole mobility of $10^{-17}cm^{-3}$ and $2.5cm^2/V{\cdot}s$, respectively. X-ray diffraction showed that the ZnO (0002) peak shifted to lower angle due to the positioning of $p^{3-}$ ions with a smaller ionic radius in the $O^{2-}$ sites. This indicates that a p-type mechanism was due to the substitutional Po. The low-temperature photoluminescence of the p-type ZnO films showed p-type related neutral acceptor-bound exciton emission. The p-ZnO/n-Si heterojunction LEO showed typical rectification behavior, which confirmed the p-type characteristics of the ZnO films in the as-deposited status, despite the deep-level related electroluminescence emission.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.51-55
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• 2011

We investigated the etching characteristics of zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films deposited by the atomic layer deposition method. The gases of the inductively coupled plasma chemistry consisted of $Cl_2$, Ar, and $O_2$. The maximum etch rate was 40.3 nm/min at a gas flow ratio of $Cl_2$/Ar=15:5 sccm, radio-frequency power of 600 W, bias power of 200 W, and process pressure of 2 Pa. We also investigated the plasma induced damage in the etched ZnO thin films using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence (PL). A highly oriented (100) peak was present in the XRD spectroscopy of the ZnO samples. The full width at half maximum value of the ZnO sample etched using the $O_2/Cl_2$/Ar chemistry was higher than that of the as-deposited sample. The roughness of the ZnO thin films increased from 1.91 nm to 2.45 nm after etching in the $O_2/Cl_2$/Ar plasma chemistry. Also, we obtained a strong band edge emission at 380 nm. The intensities of the peaks in the PL spectra from the samples etched in all of the chemistries were increased. However, there was no deep level emission.

• 한국진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국진공학회 2010년도 제39회 하계학술대회 초록집
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• pp.208-208
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• 2010

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a functional material with interesting optical and electrical properties, a wide band gap (more than 3.3 eV), a high transmittance in the visible light region, piezoelectric properties, and a high n-type conductivity. This material has been investigated for use in many applications, such as transparent electrodes, blue light-emitting diodes, and ultra-violet detector. ZnO films grown under low oxygen pressure by thin film deposition methods show low resistivity and large free electron concentration. Therefore, reducing the background carrier concentration in ZnO films is one of the major challenges ahead of realizing high-performance ZnO-based optoelectronic devices. In this study, we deposited ZnO thin films on sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) with employing an oxygen plasma source to decrease the background free-electron concentration and enhance the crystalline quality. Then, the substrate temperature was varied between 200 'C to 900 'C The vacuum chamber was initially evacuated to a pressure of $10^{-6}$ Torr, and then a pure $O_2$ gas was introduced into the chamber and the pressure during deposition was maintained at $10^{-2}$ Torr. Crystallinity and orientation of ZnO films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The film surface was analyzed with atomic force microscope (AFM). And electrical properties were measured at room temperature by Hall measurement.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제19권8호
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• pp.427-431
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• 2009

ZnO wire-like thin films were synthesized through thermal oxidation of sputtered Zn metal films in dry air. Their nanostructure was confirmed by SEM, revealing a wire-like structure with a width of less than 100 nm and a length of several microns. The gas sensors using ZnO wire-like films were found to exhibit excellent $H_2$ gas sensing properties. In particular, the observed high sensitivity and fast response to $H_2$ gas at a comparatively low temperature of $200^{\circ}C$ would lead to a reduction in the optimal operating temperature of ZnO-based $H_2$ gas sensors. These features, together with the simple synthesis process, demonstrate that ZnO wire-like films are promising for fabrication of low-cost and high-performance $H_2$ gas sensors operable at low temperatures. The relationship between the sensor sensitivity and $H_2$ gas concentration suggests that the adsorbed oxygen species at the surface is $O^-$.

• 대한전기학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한전기학회 2006년도 추계학술대회 논문집 전기물성,응용부문
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• pp.53-54
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• 2006

Arsenic doped p-type ZnO thin films have been realized on intrinsic (100) GaAs substrate by RF magnetron sputtering and thermal annealing treatment. p-Type ZnO exhibits the hole concentration of $9.684{\times}10^{19}cm^3$, resistivity of $2.54{\times}10^{-3}{\Omega}cm$, and mobility of $25.37\;cm^2/Vs$. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of As doped p-type ZnO thin films reveal neutral acceptor bound exciton ($A^{0}X$) of 3.3437 eV and a transition between free electrons and acceptor levels (FA) of 3.2924 eV. Calculated acceptor binding energy ($E_A$) is about 0.1455 eV. Thermal activation and doping mechanism of this film have been suggested by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). p-Type formation mechanism of As doped ZnO thin film is more related to the complex model, namely, $As_{Zn}-2V_{Zn}$, in which the As substitutes on the Zn site, rather than simple model, Aso, in which the As substitutes on the O site. ZnO-based p-n junction was fabricated by the deposition of an undoped n-type ZnO layer on an As doped p-type ZnO layer.

• 전자공학회논문지D
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• 제34D권12호
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• pp.46-53
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• 1997

The TMA gas sensors are fabricated with the ZnO-based thin films grown by a RF magnetron sputtering method. The hall effect measurement and AES analysis are carried out to investigate the effects of the sputtering gases and dopants which effect on the electrical resistivity and sensitivity to TMA gas. We measure the cfhanges of the surface carrier concentration, haall electron mobility, electrical resistivity, surface condition, and depth profile of the films. The ZnO-based thin film sensors sputtered in oxygen, or added with dopants showed a high sruface carrier concentration, film sensors sputtered in oxygen and doped with 4.0 wt.% $Al_{2}$O$_{3}$, 1.0 wt.% TiO$_{2}$, and 0.2 wt% v$_{2}$O$_{5}$ showed the highest surface carrier concentration of 5.952 * 10$^{20}$ cm$^{-3}$ , hall electron mobility of 176.7 cm$^{2}$/V.s, lowest electrical resistivity of 6*10$^{-5}$ .ohm.cm and highest sensitivity of 12. These results were measured at a working temperature of 300.deg. C to 8 ppm TMA gas.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• 제4권4호
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• pp.150-154
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• 2016

Mg and In co-doped ZnO (MIZO) thin films with transparent conducting characteristics were successfully prepared on glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technique. The Influence of different substrate temperature (from RT to $400^{\circ}C$) on the structural, morphological, electrical, and optical properties of MIZO thin films were investigated. The MIZO thin film prepared at the substrate temperature of $350^{\circ}C$ showed the best electrical characteristics in terms of the carrier concentration ($4.24{\times}10^{20}cm^{-3}$), charge carrier mobility ($5.01cm^2V^{-1}S^{-1}$), and a minimum resistivity ($1.24{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$). The average transmission of MIZO thin films in the visible range was over 80% and the absorption edges of MIZO thin films were very sharp. The bandgap energy of MIZO thin films becomes wider from 3.44 eV to 3.6 eV as the substrate temperature increased from RT to $350^{\circ}C$. However, Band gap energy of MIZO thin film was narrow at substrate temperature of $400^{\circ}C$.