• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.123-130
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• 2009

This study presents the application of a polymer behavior model that considers fluid mechanics and heat transfer effects in a deposition system. The analysis of the polymer fluid properties is very important in the fabrication of precise microstructures. This fluid behavior model involves the calculation of velocity distribution and mass flow rates that include the effect of heat loss in the needle. The effectiveness of the proposed method was demonstrated by comparing estimated mass fluid rates with experimental values. The mass fluid rates under various process conditions, such as pressure, temperature, and needle size, reflected the actual deposition state relatively well, and the assumption that molten polycaprolactone(PCL) is a non-Newtonian fluid was reasonable. The successful fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures demonstrated that the model is valid for predicting the polymer behavior characteristics in the microstructure fabrication process. The results of this study can be used to investigate the effect of various parameters on fabricated structures before turning to experimental approaches.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.318.1-318.1
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• 2013

Nowadays Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) solar cell is attracting a lot of attention as a strong alternative to CIGS solar cell due to nontoxic and inexpensive constituent elements of CZTS. From various processes for the fabrication of CZTS solar cell, solution-based deposition of CZTS thin films is well-known non-vacuum process and many researchers are focusing on this method because of large-area deposition, high-throughput, and efficient material usage. Typically the solution-based process consists of two steps, coating of precursor solution and annealing of the precursor thin films. Unlike vacuum-based deposition, precursor solution contains unnecessary elements except Cu, Zn, Sn, and S in order to form high quality precursor thin films, and thus the precise control of precursor thin film preparation is essential for achieving high efficient CZTS solar cells. In this work, we have investigated the effect of preparation condition of CZTS precursor thin films on the performance of CZTS solar cells. The composition of CZTS precursor solution was controlled for obtaining optimized chemical composition of CZTS absorber layers for high-efficiency solar cells. Pre-annealing process of the CZTS precursor thin films was also investigated to confirm the effect of thermal treatment on chemical composition and carbon residues of CZTS absorber layers. The change of the morphology of CZTS precursor thin film by the preparation condition was also observed.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.405-422
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• 2013

Atomic layer deposition(ALD) is a promising deposition method and has been studied and used in many different areas, such as displays, semiconductors, batteries, and solar cells. This method, which is based on a self-limiting growth mechanism, facilitates precise control of film thickness at an atomic level and enables deposition on large and three dimensionally complex surfaces. For instance, ALD technology is very useful for 3D and high aspect ratio structures such as dynamic random access memory(DRAM) and other non-volatile memories(NVMs). In addition, a variety of materials can be deposited using ALD, oxides, nitrides, sulfides, metals, and so on. In conventional ALD, the source and reactant are pulsed into the reaction chamber alternately, one at a time, separated by purging or evacuation periods. Thermal ALD and metal organic ALD are also used, but these have their own advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, plasma-enhanced ALD has come into the spotlight because it has more freedom in processing conditions; it uses highly reactive radicals and ions and for a wider range of material properties than the conventional thermal ALD, which uses $H_2O$ and $O_3$ as an oxygen reactant. However, the throughput is still a challenge for a current time divided ALD system. Therefore, a new concept of ALD, fast ALD or spatial ALD, which separate half-reactions spatially, has been extensively under development. In this paper, we reviewed these various kinds of ALD equipment, possible materials using ALD, and recent ALD research applications mainly focused on materials required in microelectronics.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.28-35
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• 2014

High-efficiency in $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ (CIGS) solar cells were usually achieved on soda-lime glass substrates due to Na incorporation that reduces deep-level defects. However, this supply of sodium from sodalime glass to CIGS through Mo back electrode could be limited at low deposition temperature. Na content could be more precisely controlled by supplying Na from known amount of an outside source. For the purpose, an $Na_2S$ layer was deposited on Mo electrode prior to CIGS film deposition and supplied to CIGS during CIGS film. With the $Na_2S$ underlayer a more uniform component distribution was possible at $350^{\circ}C$ and efficiency was improved compared to the cell without $Na_2S$ layer. With more precise control of bulk and surface component profile, CIGS film can be deposited at low temperature and could be useful for flexible CIGS solar cells.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.263-268
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• 2003

Precise thickness control and excellent properties of silicon nitride thin films are essential for the next-generation semiconductor and display devices. In this study, silicon nitride thin films were deposited by batch-type atomic layer deposition (ALD) method using $SiC1_4$ and $NH_3$ as the precursors at temperatures ranging from 500 to $600^{\circ}C$. Thin film deposition using a batch-type ALD reactor was a layer-by-layer atomic growth by self-limiting surface reactions, and the thickness of the deposited film can be controlled by the number of deposition cycles. The silicon nitride thin films deposited by ALD method exhibited composition, refractive index and wet etch rate similar with those of the thin films deposited by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition method at $760^{\circ}C$. The addition of pyridine mixed with precursors increased deposition rate by 50%, however, the films deposited with pyridine was readily oxidized owing to its unstable structure, which is unsuitable for the application to semiconductor or display devices.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.30-37
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• 2005

We present an air bridge type electrode system with tunable electrode distance for detecting electroactive biomolecules. It is known that the narrower gap between electrode fingers, the higher sensitivity in IDA (interdigitated array) electrode. In previous researches on IDA electrode, narrower patterning required much precise and expensive equipment as the gap goes down to nanometer scale. In this paper, an improved method is suggested to replace nano gap pattering with downsizing electrode distance and showed that the patterning can be replaced by thickness control using metal deposition methods, such as electroplating or metal sputtering. The air bridge type electrode was completed by the following procedures: gold patterning for lower electrode, copper electroplating, gold deposition for upper electrode, photoresist patterning for gold film support, and copper etching for space formation. The thickness of copper electroplating is the distance between upper and lower electrodes. Because the growth rate of electroplating is $0.5{\mu}m\;min^{-1}$, the distance is tunable up to hundreds of nanometers. Completed electrodes on the same wafer had $5{\mu}m$ electrode distance. The gaps between fingers are 10, 20, 30, and $40{\mu}m$ and the widths of fingers are 10, 20, 30, 40, and $50{\mu}m$. The air bridge type electrode system showed better sensitivity than planar electrode.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.452-452
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• 2013

ZnO is one of the most attractive transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films because of low toxicity, a wide band gap material and relatively low cost. However, the electrical conductivity of un-doped ZnO is too high to use it as TCO films in practical application. To improve electrical properties of undoped ZnO, transition metal (TM) doped ZnO films such as Al doped ZnO or Ti doped ZnO have been extensively studied. Here, we prepared Ti doped ZnO thin films by atomic layer deposition (ALD) for the application of TCO films. ALD was used to prepare Ti-doped ZnO thin films due to its inherent merits such as large area uniformity, precise composition control in multicomponent thin films, and digital thickness controllability. Also, we demonstrated that ALD method can be utilized for fabricating highly ordered freestanding nanostructures of Ti-doped ZnO thin films by combining with BCP templates, which can potentially used in the photovoltaic applications.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.93-93
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• 2013

In recent years, multifunctional ternary nitride thin films have received extenstive attention due to its versatility in many applications. In particular, noble metal based ternary nitride thin films showed a promising properties in the application of Multifunctional heating resistor films because its good electrical properties and excellent resistance against oxidation and corrosion. In this study, we prepared multifunctional noble metal based ternary nitride thin films by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and plasma-enhanced ALD (PEALD) method. ALD and PEALD techniques were used due to their inherent merits such as a precise composition control and large area uniformity, which is very attractive for preparing multicomponent thin films on large area substrate. Here, we will demonstrate the design concept of multifunctional noble metal based ternary thin films. And, the relationship between microstructural evolution and electrical resistivity in noble metal based ternary thin films will be systemically presented. The useful properties of noble metal based ternary thin films including anti-corrosion and anti-oxidation will be discussed in terms of hybrid functionality.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.114-117
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• 2011

We report our efforts on the development of Nb-based non-hysteretic Josephson junction fabrication process for quantu device applications. By adopting and modifying the existing Nb-aluminum oxide tunnel junction process, we develop a process for non-hysteretic Josephson junction circuits using metal-silicide as metallic barrier material. We use sputter deposition of Nb and $MoSi_2$, PECVD deposition of silicon oxide as insulator material, and ICP-RIE for metal and oxide etch. The advantage of the metal-silicide barrier in the Nb junction process is that it can be etched in $SF_6$ RIE together with Nb electrode. In order to define a junction area precisely and uniformly, end-point detection for the RIE process is critical. In this paper, we employed thin Al layer for the etch stop, and optimized the etch condition. We have successfully demonstrated that the etch stop properties of the inserted Al layer give a uniform etch profile and a precise thickness control of the base electrode in Nb trilayer junctions.

• Carbon letters
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.185-193
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• 2011

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have developed into one of the most competitively researched nano-materials of this decade because of their structural uniqueness and excellent physical properties such as nanoscale one dimensionality, high aspect ratio, high mechanical strength, thermal conductivity and excellent electrical conductivity. Mass production and structure control of CNTs are key factors for a feasible CNT industry. Water and ethanol vapor enhance the catalytic activity for massive growth of vertically aligned CNTs. A shower system for gas flow improves the growth of vertically aligned single walled CNTs (SWCNTs) by controlling the gas flow direction. Delivery of gases from the top of the nanotubes enables direct and precise supply of carbon source and water vapor to the catalysts. High quality vertically aligned SWCNTs synthesized using plasma enhance the chemical vapor deposition technique on substrate with suitable metal catalyst particles. This review provides an introduction to the concept of the growth of vertically aligned SWCNTs and covers advanced topics on the controlled synthesis of vertically aligned SWCNTs.