• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.222-222
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• 2012

Metal oxide gas sensors based on semiconductor type have attracted a great deal of attention due to their low cost, flexible production and simple usability. However, most works have been focused on n-type oxides, while the characteristics of p-type oxide gas sensors have been barely studied. An investigation on p-type oxides is very important in that the use of them makes possible the novel sensors such as p-n diode and tandem devices. Monoclinic cupric oxide (CuO) is p-type semiconductor with narrow band gap (~1.2 eV). This is composed of abundant, nontoxic elements on earth, and thus low-cost, environment-friendly devices can be realized. However, gas sensing properties of neat CuO were rarely explored and the mechanism still remains unclear. In this work, the neat CuO layers with highly ordered mesoporous structures were prepared by a template-free, one-pot solution-based method using novel ink solutions, formulated with copper formate tetrahydrate, hexylamine and ethyl cellulose. The shear viscosity of the formulated solutions was 5.79 Pa s at a shear rate of 1 s-1. The solutions were coated on SiO2/Si substrates by spin-coating (ink) and calcined for 1 h at the temperature of $200{\sim}600^{\circ}C$ in air. The surface and cross-sectional morphologies of the formed CuO layers were observed by a focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) and porosity was determined by image analysis using simple computer-programming. XRD analysis showed phase evolutions of the layers, depending on the calcination temperature, and thermal decompositions of the neat precursor and the formulated ink were investigated by TGA and DSC. As a result, the formation of the porous structures was attributed to the vaporization of ethyl cellulose contained in the solutions. Mesoporous CuO, formed with the ink solution, consisted of grains and pores with nano-meter size. All of them were strongly dependent on calcination temperature. Sensing properties toward H2 and C2H5OH gases were examined as a function of operating temperature. High and fast responses toward H2 and C2H5OH gases were discussed in terms of crystallinity, nonstoichiometry and morphological factors such as porosity, grain size and surface-to-volume ratio. To our knowledge, the responses toward H2 and C2H5OH gases of these CuO gas sensors are comparable to previously reported values.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.259-273
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• 2012

Chalcogenide-based semiconductors, such as $CuInSe_2$, $CuGaSe_2$, Cu(In,Ga)$Se_2$ (CIGS), and CdTe have attracted considerable interest as efficient materials in thin film solar cells (TFSCs). Currently, CIGS and CdTe TFSCs have demonstrated the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of over 11% in module production. However, commercialized CIGS and CdTe TFSCs have some limitations due to the scarcity of In, Ga, and Te and the environmental issues associated with Cd and Se. Recently, kesterite CZTS, which is one of the In- and Ga- free absorber materials, has been attracted considerable attention as a new candidate for use as an absorber material in thin film solar cells. The CZTS-based absorber material has outstanding characteristics such as band gap energy of 1.0 eV to 1.5 eV, high absorption coefficient on the order of $10^4cm^{-1}$, and high theoretical conversion efficiency of 32.2% in thin film solar cells. Despite these promising characteristics, research into CZTS-based thin film solar cells is still incomprehensive and related reports are quite few compared to those for CIGS thin film solar cells, which show high efficiency of over 20%. The recent development of kesterite-based CZTS thin film solar cells is summarized in this work. The new challenges for enhanced performance in CZTS thin films are examined and prospective issues are addressed as well.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.214-218
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• 2020

In this study, Mg_xZn_1-xO thin films, which can be applied not only to active layers of light-emitting devices (LEDs), such as UV-LEDs, but also to solar cells, high mobility field-effect transistors, and power semiconductor devices, are fabricated using the sol-gel method. ZnO and Mg_0.3Zn_0.7O solution synthesized by the sol-gel method and the thin film were grown by spin coating on a Si (100) substrate and sapphire substrate. The solutions are synthesized by dissolving precursor materials in 2-methoxyethanol (2-ME) solvent, and then monoethanolamine (MEA) was added to the mixed solution as a sol stabilizer. Zinc acetate dihydrate is used as a ZnO precursor, while Mg nitrate hexahydrate and Mg acetate tetrahydrate are used as an MgO precursor. Then, the optical and structural characteristics of the fabricated thin films are compared. The molar concentration of the Zn precursor in the solvent is fixed at 0.3 M, and the amount of the Mg precursor is 30% of Mg²⁺/Zn²⁺. The optical characteristics are measured using an UV-vis spectrophotometer, and the transmittance of each wavelength is measured. Structural characteristics are measured using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Composition analyses are performed using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The Mg_0.3Zn_0.7O thin film was well formed at the ratio of the Mg precursor added regardless of the type of Mg precursor, and the c-axis of the thin film was decreased, while the band gap was increased to 3.56 eV.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.219-224
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• 2022

CaF₂ single crystal has a large band gap (12 eV), and it is used for optical windows, prisms, and lenses due to its excellent transmittance in a wide wavelength range and low refractive index. Moreover, it is expected to be one of the materials for ultraviolet transmissive laser optical components. CaF₂ belongs to the fluoride compounds and has a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure with three sub-lattices. The representative method for CaF₂ single crystal growth is Czochralski, which method has the advantages of high production efficiency and the ability to make large crystals. In this study, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray rocking curves (XRC) measurement, and chemical etching were performed to analyze the crystallinity and defect density of the CaF₂ single crystals, grown by the Czochralski method. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy systems were used to investigate the optical properties of the CaF₂ crystal. The provability of various applications, including UV application, was systematically investigated with various analysis results.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2024

β-Ga₂O₃ is a material with a wide band gap of ~4.8 eV and a high breakdown-voltage of 8 MV/cm, and is attracting much attention in the field of power device applications. In addition, compared to representative WBG semiconductor materials such as SiC, GaN and Diamond, it has the advantage of enabling single crystal growth with high growth rate and low manufacturing cost [1-4]. In this study, we succeeded in growing a 10 mm thick β-Ga₂O₃ single crystal doped with 0.3 mol% SnO₂ through the EFG (Edge-defined Film-fed Growth) method using multi-slit structure. The growth direction and growth plane were set to [010]/(010), respectively, and the growth speed was about 12 mm/h. The grown β-Ga₂O₃ single crystal was cut into various crystal planes (010, 001, 100, ${\bar{2}}01$) and surface processed. The processed samples were compared for characteristics according to crystal plane through analysis such as XRD, UV/VIS/NIR/Spec., Mercury Probe, AFM and Etching. This research is expected to contribute to the development of power semiconductor technology in high-voltage and high-temperature applications, and selecting a substrate with better characteristics will play an important role in improving device performance and reliability.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 2024

In this study, we investigated a method of growing single crystal 𝛽-Ga₂O₃ thin films on a c-plane sapphire substrate using MOCVD. We confirmed the optimal growth conditions to increase the crystallinity of the 𝛽-Ga₂O₃ thin film and confirmed the effect of the ratio between O₂ and Ga precursors on crystal growth on the crystallinity of the thin film. The growth temperature range was 600~1100℃, and crystallinity was analyzed when the O₂/TMGa ratio was 800~6000. As a result, the highest crystallinity thin film was obtained when the molar ratio between precursors was 2400 at 1100℃. The surface of the thin film was observed with a FE-SEM and XRD ω-scan of the thin film, the FWHM was found to be 1.17° and 1.43° at the and (${\bar{2}}01$) and (${\bar{4}}02$) diffraction peaks. The optical band gap energy obtained was 4.78 ~ 4.88 eV, and the films showed a transmittance of over 80% in the near-ultraviolet and visible light regions.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.715-720
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• 2016

This paper proposes a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) voltage mode DC-DC step-up converter for portable devices. The converter, which is operated with a 1 MHz switching frequency, is capable of reducing the mounting area of passive devices, such as inductor and capacitor, and is suitable for compact mobile products. This step-up converter consists of a power stage and a control block. The circuit elements of the power stage are an inductor, output capacitor, MOS transistors Meanwhile, control block consist of OPAMP (operational amplifier), BGR (band gap reference), soft-start, hysteresis comparator, and non-overlap driver and some protection circuits (OVP, TSD, UVLO). The hysteresis comparator and non-overlapping drivers reduce the output ripple and the effects of noise to improve safety. The proposed step-up converter was designed and verified in Magnachip/Hynix 0.18um 1-poly, 6-metal CMOS process technology. The output voltage was 5 V with a 3.3 V input voltage, output current of 100 mA, output ripple less than 1% of the output voltage, and a switching frequency of 1 MHz. These designed DC-DC step-up converters could be applied to the Personal Digital Assistants(PDA), cellular Phones, Laptop Computer, etc.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.88-99
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• 1992

For the development of semiconducting photoelectrode to be more stable and efficient in the process of photoelectrolysis of the water, pure titanium rods were oxidized by anodic oxidation, furance oxidation and flame oxidation and used as electrodes. The Indium islands were formed by electrodeposition of "In" thin film on $TiO_2$ and Ti by electrodeposition. Also $A1_2O_3$ and NiO islands were coated on Ti by the electron-beam evaporation technique. The maximum photoelectrochemical conversion efficiency(${\eta}$) was 0.98% for flame oxidized electrode($1200^{\circ}C$ for 2min in air). Anodically oxidized electrodes have photoelectrochemical conversion efficiency of 0.14%. Furnace oxidized electrode($800^{\circ}C$ for 10min in air) has 0.57% of photoelectrochemical efficiency and shows a band-gap energy of about 2.9eV. The $In_2O_3$ coated $TiO_2$ exhibits 0.8% of photoelectrochemical efficiency but much higher value of ${\eta}$ was obtained with the Increase of applied blas voltage. However, $Al_2O_3$ or NiO coated $TiO_2$ shows much low value of ${\eta}$. The efficiency was dependent on the presence of the metallic interstitial compound $TiO_{0+x}$(x<0.33) at the metal-semiconductor interface and the thickness of the suboxide layer and the external rutile scale.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1059-1068
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• 2016

This paper proposes slow wave structure(SWS) utilized to increase antenna gain of printed dipole antenna(PDA) and to suppress sidelobe level simultaneously, and makes sure of electrical characteristics of the antenna according to parameter variations of components of the slow wave structure. The printed slow wave structure which is composed of a dielectric substrate and a metal rods array is located on excited direction of the PDA, affecting the radiation pattern and its intensity. Parasitic elements of the metal rods are arrayed in narrow consistent gap and have a tendency to gradually decrease in length. In this paper, array interval, element length, and taper angle are selected as the parameter of the parasitic element that effects radiation characteristics. Magnitude and phase distribution of the electrical field are observed and analyzed for each parameter variations. On the basis of these results, while the radiation pattern is analyzed, array methods of parasitic elements of the SWS for high gain characteristics are provided. The proposed antenna is designed to be operated at the Wifi band(5.15~5.85 GHz), and parameters of the parasitic element are optimized to maximize antenna gain and suppress sidelobe. Simulated and measured results of the fabricated antenna show that it has wide bandwidth, high efficiency, high gain, and low sidelobe level.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.15-20
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• 2010

In this study, AZO (Al: 3 wt%) thin films have been prepared on PES Plastic substrates at various working pressure (5~20 mTorr), $O_2$ gas flow rate(0~3%) and the fixed substrate temperature of 200 f by using the RF magnetron sputtering and their optical and electrical properties have been studied. The XRD measurement shows that AZO thin films exhibit c-axis preferred orientation. From the results of AFM measurements, it is known that the lowest surface roughness (3.49 nm) is obtained for the AZO thin film fabricated at 5 mTorr of working pressure and 3% of $O_2$ gas flow rate. The optical transmittance of AZO thin films is measured as 80% in the visible region. We observe that the energy band gap of AZO thin films increases with decreasing the working pressure and the $O_2$ gas flow rate. This phenomenon is due to the Burstein-Moss effect. Hall measurement shows that the maximum carrier concentration ($2.63\;{\times}\;10^{20}\;cm^{-3}$) and the minimum resistivity ($4.35\;{\times}\;10^{-3}\;{\Omega}cm$) are obtained for the AZO thin film fabricated at 5mTorr of working pressure and 0% of $O_2$ gas flow rate.