• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.393-402
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• 1993

Redox flow secondary battery have been studied actively as one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage devices for a wide range of applications, such as electric vehicles, photovoltaic arrays, and excess power generated by electric power plants. In all-vanadium redox flow battery using solution of vanadium-sulfuric acid as a active material, the difficulty in developing an efficient ion selective membrane can still be identified. The asymmetric cation exchange membrane(M-30) as a separator of all-vanadium redox flow battery which were obtained by the reaction of chlorosulfonation for 30 minutes under the irradiation of UV, showed its superiority in the transport number of 0.94 and electrical resistivity of $0.5{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$. The base membrane were prepared by lamination a low density polyethlene film of $10{\mu}m$ thickness on polyolefin membrane(HIPORE 120). The electrical resistivity of M-30 membrane in real solution of vanadium-sulfuric acid was $3.79{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$ and it was similar to that of Nafion 117 membrane. Also the cell resistivity was $6.6{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$and lower than that of Nafion 117. In considertion of electrochemical properties and costs of membranes, M-30 membrane was better than that of Nafion 117 and CMV of Asahi glass Co. as a separator of all-vanadium redox flow battery.

• 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.

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

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.58-63
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• 2008

This study has analysed power output characteristics of transparent thin-film PV module depending on incidence angle and azimuth. The experiment results showed power outputs of transparent thin-film PV module applied to full-scale mock up model on slope of $90^{\circ},\;30^{\circ},\;0^{\circ}$ to the south. The simulation results was evaluated power outputs of transparent thin-film PV module depending on incidence angle and azimuth after calibrating the experimental and computed data. As a result. the best power output performance of transparent thin-film PV module was obtained at slope of $30^{\circ}$ to the south, producing the annual power output of 977kWh/kWp. The annual power output data demonstrated that the PV module with a slope of $30^{\circ}$ could produce a 68 % higher power output than that with a slope of $90^{\circ}$ with respect to the inclined slope of the module, Furthermore, the PV module facing south showed a 22 % higher power output than that facing to the east in terms of the angle of the azimuth, Specipically. the varying power output with incidence angle of PV module can be resulted from the influence of incidence angle modifier of glass on PV module. That is, the solar energy transmission can be reduced as an increase of incidence angle of PV module. Therefore, when the inclined slope of the PV module was over $70^{\circ}$ there was a significant reduction of power output, and this was caused by the decrease of solar energy transmission in the transparent thin-film PV module.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.152-162
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• 2017

A hydrophilic coating solution was prepared by adding a silane coupling agent and a nano-inorganic oxide in aqueous surfactant solution to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic power generation due to the introduction of antifogging and antifouling properties on the glass surface of the solar cell module. Addition of $Ludox^{(R)}$, a nano-inorganic oxide, to 1% hydrophilic coating solution showed improved hydrophilicity and excellent antifogging effect regardless of $Ludox^{(R)}$ concentration. However, the antifouling effect on the glass surface was showed only when Ludox was added more than 10%. In the case of addition of 0.7% of hydrolyzed TEOS at pH 4, the antifogging effect was maintained as a result of the steam test as well as the antifouling effect even after the coated glass surface was rubbed 100 times with a wet Kimwipe. In addition, from the surface roughness ($R_q$) calculated using AFM data, the higher surface roughness with irregular surface shape was obtained with the higher concentration of TEOS. The addition of 0.7% of TEOS showed relatively high surface roughness and well organized surface condition which can help to improve transmittance of light. In conclusion, $Ludox^{(R)}$ is not required only for the antifogging property. However, at least 10% of Ludox should be added to show antifouling effect and 0.7% of TEOS should be added for good durability.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.341-341
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• 2016

The discovery of light emission in nanostructured silicon has opened up new avenues of research in nano-silicon based devices. One such pathway is the application of silicon quantum dots in advanced photovoltaic and light emitting devices. Recently, there is increasing interest on the silicon quantum dots (c-Si QDs) films embedded in amorphous hydrogenated silicon-nitride dielectric matrix (a-SiNx: H), which are familiar as c-Si/a-SiNx:H QDs thin films. However, due to the limitation of the requirement of a very high deposition temperature along with post annealing and a low growth rate, extensive research are being undertaken to elevate these issues, for the point of view of applications, using plasma assisted deposition methods by using different plasma concepts. This work addresses about rapid growth and single step development of c-Si/a-SiNx:H QDs thin films deposited by RF (13.56 MHz) and ultra-high frequency (UHF ~ 320 MHz) low-pressure plasma processing of a mixture of silane (SiH4) and ammonia (NH3) gases diluted in hydrogen (H2) at a low growth temperature ($230^{\circ}C$). In the films the c-Si QDs of varying size, with an overall crystallinity of 60-80 %, are embedded in an a-SiNx: H matrix. The important result includes the formation of the tunable QD size of ~ 5-20 nm, having a thermodynamically favorable <220> crystallographic orientation, along with distinct signatures of the growth of ${\alpha}$-Si3N4 and ${\beta}$-Si3N4 components. Also, the roles of different plasma characteristics on the film properties are investigated using various plasma diagnostics and film analysis tools.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.441-441
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• 2009

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been widely investigated as a next-generation solar cell because of their simple fabrication process and low coats. The cells use a porous nanocrystalline TiO2 matrix coated with a sensitizer dye that acts as the light-harvesting element. The photo-exited dye injects electrons into the $TiO_2$ particles, and the oxide dye reacts with I- in the electrolyte in regenerative cycle that is completed by the reduction of $I_3^-$ at a platinum-coated counter electrode. Since $TiO_2$ porous film plays a key role in the enhancement of photoelectric conversion efficiency of DSSC, many scientists focus their researches on it. Especially, a high light-to-electricity conversion efficiency results from particle size and crystallographic phase, film porosity, surface structure, charge and surface area to volume ratio of porous $TiO_2$ electrodes, on which the dye can be sufficiently adsorbed. Effective treatment of the photoanode is important to improve DSSC performance. In this paper, to obtain properties of surface and dispersion as nitric acid treated $TiO_2$ photoelectrode was investigate. The photovoltaic characteristics of DSSCs based the electrode fabricated by nitric acid pre-treatment $TiO_2$ materials gave better performances on both of short circuit current density and open circuit voltage. We compare dispersion of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles before and after nitric acid treatment and measured Ti oxidized state from XPS. Low charge transfer resistance was obtained in nitric acid treated sample than that of untreated sample. The dye-sensitized solar cell based on the nitric acid treatment had open-circuit voltage of 0.71 V, a short-circuit current of 15.2 mAcm-2 and an energy conversion efficiency of 6.6 % under light intensity of $100\;mWcm^{-2}$. About 14 % increases in efficiency obtained when the $TiO_2$ electrode was treated by nitric acid.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.29-37
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• 2011

Dispersed generation (DG) such as wind power (WP) and Photovoltaic systems (PV) that has been promoted at the national level recently is mainly being introduced into distribution systems adjacent to consumers because it is generation on a small scale when compared to current generation. Due to its characteristics, DG can be operated by interconnection with distribution systems to present security of more stable power and efficient use of power facilities and resources. Problems on protection coordination of distribution systems by reverse flow of DG can roughly be divided into three possibilities: excess in rated breaking capacity (12.5KA) of protective devices by a fault in DG current supply, failure to operate protective devices by an apparent effect that can occur by reduction in impedance parallel circuit fault current due to interconnection of DG, and malfunction of protective devices by interconnection transformer connection type. The purpose of this study is to analyze problems in protection coordination that can occur when DG is operated by interconnection with distribution systems by conducting modeling and simulations by using theoretical symmetrical components and MATLAB/SIMULINK to present methods to improve such problems.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.57-62
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• 2011

The energy conversion efficiency of DSSCs (Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells) is dependent on the powder size, the structure, and the morphology of $TiO_2$ electrode. The higher efficiency is obtained with high surface area of the nanoanatase-$TiO_2$ powder adsorbed onto a lot more of the dye. Also, the enhancement of light scattering increases the efficiency with high adsorption of the dye. Powder size, crystalline phase, and shape of $TiO_2$ obtained by hydrothermal method have 15-20 nm, anatase and round. $TiO_2$ electrode has fabricated with the mixture of scattering $TiO_2$ particle with 0.4 ${\mu}m$ in nano-sized powder. Conversion efficiency of series of DSSCs was measured with volume fraction of scattering particle. Photovoltaic characteristics of DSSCs with 10% scattering particles are 3.51 mA for Jsc (short circuit current), 0.79 V for Voc(open circuit potential), filling factor 0.619 and 6.86% for efficiency. Jsc was improved by 11% and enhancement of efficiency by 0.77% compared with that of no scattering particles. The confinement of inserted light by light scattering particles has more increase of the injection of exiton(electron-hole pair) and decrease of moving path in electron. Efficiencies of DSSCs with more than 10% for scattering particles have reduced with increasing the pore in the $TiO_2$ electrode.

• Clean Technology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.72-78
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• 2020

The use of fossil fuel and biogas production causes air pollution and climate change problems. Research endeavors continue to focus on converting methane and carbon dioxide, which are the major causes of climate change, into quality energy sources. In this study, a novel plasma-carbon converter was proposed to convert biogas into high quality gas, which is linked to photovoltaic and wind power and which poses a problem on generating electric power continuously. The characteristics of conversion and gas production were investigated to find a possibility for biogas conversion, involving parametric tests according to the change in the main influence variables, such as O₂/C ratio, total gas feed rate, and CO₂/CH₄ ratio. A higher O₂/C ratio gave higher conversions of methane and carbon dioxide. Total gas feed rate showed maximum conversion at a certain specified value. When CO₂/CH₄ feed ratio was decreased, both conversions increased. As a result, the production of solar fuel by plasma oxidation destruction-carbon material gasification conversion, which was newly suggested in this study, could be known as a possibly useful technology. When O₂/C ratio was 0.8 and CO₂/CH₄ was 0.67 while the total gas supply was at 40 L min^-1 (VHSV = 1.37), the maximum conversions of carbon dioxide and methane were achieved. The results gave the highest production for hydrogen and carbon dioxide which were high-quality fuel.