• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.697-700
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• 2020

We report the synthesis and characterization of quartz nanocrystals (NCs). Quartz NCs were synthesized from the dissolution of amorphous silica nanoparticle precursors under the mild hydrothermal condition of ~250 ℃ and autogenic pressure. It was confirmed that the average size of the nanostructure with a highly crystalline phase of α-quartz can be tuned in a relatively narrow range from 407.5 to 826.2 nm with respect to the reaction time. α-Quartz NCs have potential uses for technological applications in optoelectronics, sensing, and rechargeable battery devices.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.412-412
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• 2009

Carbon-based nano materials have a significant effect on various fields such as physics, chemistry and material science. Therefore carbon nano materials have been investigated by many scientists and engineers. Especially, since graphene, 2-dimemsonal carbon nanostructure, was experimentally discovered graphene has been tremendously attracted by both theoretical and experimental groups due to their extraordinary electrical, chemical and mechanical properties. Electrical conductivity of graphene is about ten times to that of silicon-based material and independent of temperature. At the same time silicon-based semiconductors encountered to limitation in size reduction, graphene is a strong candidate substituting for silicon-based semiconductor. But there are many limitations on fabricating large-scale graphene sheets (GS) without any defect and controlling chirality of edges. Many scientists applied micromechanical cleavage method from graphite and a SiC decomposition method to the fabrication of GS. However these methods are on the basic stage and have many drawbacks. Thereupon, our group fabricated GS through Thermo-electrical Pulse Induced Evaporation (TPIE) motivated by arc-discharge and field ion microscopy. This method is based on interaction of electrical pulse evaporation and thermal evaporation and is useful to produce not only graphene but also various carbon-based nanostructures with feeble pulse and at low temperature. On fabricating GS procedure, we could recognize distinguishable conditions (electrical pulse, temperature, etc.) to form a variety of carbon nanostructures. In this presentation, we will show the structural properties of OS by synthesized TPIE. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Optical Microscopy (OM) observations were performed to view structural characteristics such as crystallinity. Moreover, we confirmed number of layers of GS by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy. Also, we used a probe station, in order to measure the electrical properties such as sheet resistance, resistivity, mobility of OS. We believe our method (TPIE) is a powerful bottom-up approach to synthesize and modify carbon-based nanostructures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.493-493
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• 2014

The manufacturing cost of thin-film photovoltics can potentially be lowered by minimizing the amount of a semiconductor material used to fabricate devices. Thin-film solar cells are typically only a few micrometers thick, whereas crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafer solar cells are $180{\sim}300\mu}m$ thick. As such, thin-film layers do not fully absorb incident light and their energy conversion efficiency is lower compared with that of c-Si wafer solar cells. Therefore, effective light trapping is required to realize commercially viable thin-film cells, particularly for indirect-band-gap semiconductors such as c-Si. An emerging method for light trapping in thin film solar cells is the use of metallic nanostructures that support surface plasmons. Plasmon-enhanced light absorption is shown to increase the cell photocurrent in many types of solar cells, specifically, in c-Si thin-film solar cells and in poly-Si thin film solar cell. By proper engineering of these structures, light can be concentrated and coupled into a thin semiconductor layer to increase light absorption. In many cases, silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NP) are formed either on the front surface or on the rear surface on the cells. In case of poly-Si thin film solar cells, Ag NPs are formed on the rear surface of the cells due to longer wavelengths are not perfectly absorbed in the active layer on the first path. In our cells, shorter wavelengths typically 300~500 nm are also not effectively absorbed. For this reason, a new concept of plasmonic nanostructure which is NPs formed both the front - and the rear - surface is worth testing. In this simulation Al NPs were located onto glass because Al has much lower parasitic absorption than other metal NPs. In case of Ag NP, it features parasitic absorption in the optical frequency range. On the other hand, Al NP, which is non-resonant metal NP, is characterized with a higher density of conduction electrons, resulting in highly negative dielectric permittivity. It makes them more suitable for the forward scattering configuration. In addition to this, Ag NP is located on the rear surface of the cell. Ag NPs showed good performance enhancement when they are located on the rear surface of our cells. In this simulation, Al NPs are located on glass and Ag NP is located on the rear Si surface. The structure for the simulation is shown in figure 1. Figure 2 shows FDTD-simulated absorption graphs of the proposed and reference structures. In the simulation, the front of the cell has Al NPs with 70 nm radius and 12.5% coverage; and the rear of the cell has Ag NPs with 157 nm in radius and 41.5% coverage. Such a structure shows better light absorption in 300~550 nm than that of the reference cell without any NPs and the structure with Ag NP on rear only. Therefore, it can be expected that enhanced light absorption of the structure with Al NP on front at 300~550 nm can contribute to the photocurrent enhancement.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.617-621
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• 2009

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were grown on the pre-oxidized silicon substrate with the assistance of Au and the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) based on the catalysts by vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) synthesis. Two types of ZnO powder particle size, 20nm, $20{\mu}m$, were used as a source material, respectively The properties of the nanorods such as morphological characteristics, chemical composition and crystalline properties were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The particle size of ZnO source strongly affected the growth of ZnO nanostructures as well as the crystallographic structure. All the ZnO nanostructures are hexagonal and single crystal in nature. It is found that $1030^{\circ}C$ is a suitable optimum growth temperature and 20 nm is a optimum ZnO powder particle size. Nanorods were fabricated on the FTO deposition with large electronegativity and we found that the electric potential of nanorods rises as the ratio of current rises, there is direct relationship with the catalysts, Therefore, it was considered that Sn can be the alternative material of Au in the formation of ZnO nanostructures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.480-480
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• 2011

양극산화(anodization)는 금속을 전기화학적으로 산화시켜 금속산화물로 만드는 기술로서 최근 다양한 크기의 나노 구조를 제조하는 기술로 각광받고 있으며, 이러한 기술에 의하여 얻어지는 anodic aluminum oxide(AAO)는 magnetic data storage, optoelectronic device, sensor에 적용될 수 있는 nano device 뿐만 아니라 nanostructure를 제조하기 위한 template 및 mask로써 최근 광범위 하게 연구되고 있다. 또한, AAO는 Al2O3의 단단한 구조를 가진 무기재료이므로 solid mask로써 다른 porous materials 보다 뛰어난 특성을 갖고 있다. 또한 electron-beam lithography 및 block co-polymer 에 의한 patterning 과 비교하여 매우 경제적이며, 재현성이 우수할 뿐만 아니라 대면적에서 나노 구조의 크기 및 형상제어가 비교적 쉽기 때문에 널리 사용되고 있다. 그러나, AAO 형성 시 생기게 되는 반구형 모양의 barrier layer는 물질(substance)과 기판과의 direct physical and electrical contact을 방해하기 때문에 해결해야 할 가장 큰 문제점 중 하나로 알려져 있다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 실리콘 기판위의 형성된 AAO의 barrier layer를 Cl/BCl3 gas mixture에서 Neutral Beam Etching (NBE)과 Ion Beam Etching (IBE) 로 각각 식각한 후 그 결과와 비교하였다. NBE와 IBE 모두 Cl2/BCl3 gas mixture에서 BCl3 gas의 첨가량이 60% 일 경우 etch rate이 가장 높게 나타났고, optical emission spectroscopy (OES)로 Cl2/BCl3 플라즈마 내의 Cl radical density와 X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)로 AAO 표면 위를 관찰한 결과 휘발성 BOxCly의 형성이 AAO 식각에 크게 관여함을 확인 할 수 있었다. 또한, NBE와 IBE 실험한 다양한 Cl2/BCl3 gas mixture ratio 에서 AAO가 식각이 되지만, 이온빔의 경우 나노사이즈의 AAO pore의 charging에 의해 pore 아래쪽의 위치한 barrier layer를 어떤 식각조건에서도 제거하지 못하였다. 하지만, NBE에서는 BCl3-rich Cl2/BCl3 gas mixture인 식각조건에서 AAO pore에 휘발성 BOxCly를 형성하면서 barrier layer를 제거할 수 있었다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 1996.11a
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• pp.6-6
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• 1996

Ceramic based nanocomposite, in which nano-sized ceramics and metals were dispersed within matrix grains and/or at grain boundaries, were successfully fabricated in the ceramic/cerarnic and ceramic/metal composite systems such as $Al_2O_3$/SiC, $Al_2O_3$/$Si_3N_4$, MgO/SiC, mullite/SiC, $Si_3N_4/SiC, $Si_3N_4$/B, $Al_2O_3$/W, $Al_2O_3$/Mo, $Al_2O_3$/Ni and $ZrO_2$/Mo systems. In these systems, the ceramiclceramic composites were fabricated from homogeneously mixed powders, powders with thin coatings of the second phases and amorphous precursor composite powders by usual powder metallurgical methods. The ceramiclmetal nanocomposites were prepared by combination of H2 reduction of metal oxides in the early stage of sinterings and usual powder metallurgical processes. The transmission electron microscopic observation for the $Al_2O_3$/SiC nanocomposite indicated that the second phases less than 70nm were mainly located within matrix grains and the larger particles were dispersed at the grain boundaries. The similar observation was also identified for other cerarnic/ceramic and ceramiclmetal nanocornposites. The striking findings in these nanocomposites were that mechanical properties were significantly improved by the nano-sized dispersion from 5 to 10 vol% even at high temperatures. For example, the improvement in hcture strength by 2 to 5 times and in creep resistance by 2 to 4 orders was observed not only for the ceramidceramic nanocomposites but also for the ceramiclmetal nanocomposites with only 5~01%se cond phase. The newly developed silicon nitride/boron nitride nanocomposites, in which nano-sized hexagonal BN particulates with low Young's modulus and fracture strength were dispersed mainly within matrix grains, gave also the strong improvement in fracture strength and thermal shock fracture resistance. In presentation, the process-rnicro/nanostructure-properties relationship will be presented in detail. The special emphasis will be placed on the understanding of the roles of nano-sized dispersions on mechanical properties.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.30-33
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• 2008

Two polymeric interfaces with single component homo-polymers were prepared to control the orientation of block copolymer thin-film nanostructures. Poly(4-acetoxy styrene) (OH-PAS) and poly(4-methoxy styrene) (OH-PMS) which have the average chemical composition of polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) were precisely synthesized through nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization. After dehydration reactions between above polymers and SiOx layers of silicon wafers, the polymer-modified interface induced partial (30%) vertical orientation of PS-b-PMMA thin film in the case of OH-PMS and wholly parallel orientation in the case of OH-PAS. Chemical compositions of polymeric interface layers are regarded as the key parameter to control the orientation of nanostructures of block copolymer thin film.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.256-259
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• 2006

The amorphous $SiO_x$ nanowires were synthesized by the vapor phase epitaxy (VPE) method. $SiO_x$ nanowires were formed on silicon wafer of temperatures ranged from $800{\sim}1100^{\circ}C$ and nickel thin film was used as a catalyst for the growth of nanowires. A vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism is responsible for the catalyst-assisted amorphous $SiO_x$ nanowires synthesis in this experiment. The SEM images showed cotton-like nanostructure of free standing $SiO_x$ nanowires with the length of more than about $10{\mu}m$. The $SiO_x$ nanowires were confirmed amorphous structure by TEM analysis and EDX spectrum reveals that the nanowires consist of Si and O.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.288-288
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• 2013

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) is one of the most important rechargeable battery and portable energy storage for the electric digital devices. In particular, study about the higher energy capacity and longer cycle life is intensively studied because of applications in mobile electronics and electric vehicles. Generally, the LIB's capacity can be improved by replacing anode materials with high capacitance. The graphite, common anode materials, has a good cyclability but shows limitations of capacity (~374 mAh/g). On the contrary, silicon (Si) and germanium(Ge), which is same group elements, are promising candidate for high-performance LIB electrodes because it has a higher theoretical specific capacity. (Si:4200 mAh/g, Ge:1600 mAh/g) However, it is well known that Si volume change by 400% upon full lithiation (lithium insertion into Si), which result in a mechanical pulverization and poor capacity retention during cycling. Therefore, variety of nanostructure group IV elements, including nanoparticles, nanowires, and hollow nanospheres, can be promising solution about the critical issues associated with the large volume change. However, the fundamental research about correlation between the composition and structure for LIB anode is not studied yet. Herein, we successfully synthesized various structure of nanowire such as Si-Ge, Ge-Carbon and Si-graphene core-shell types and analyzed the properties of LIB. Nanowires (NWs) were grown on stainless steel substrates using Au catalyst via VLS (Vapor Liquid Solid) mechanism. And, core-shell NWs were grown by VS (Vapor-Solid) process on the surface of NWs. In order to characterize it, we used FE-SEM, HR-TEM, and Raman spectroscopy. We measured battery property of various nanostructures for checking the capacity and cyclability by cell-tester.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.531-536
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• 2017

Nano/micro technology is currently applied to improve solid surface wettability, with recent research studies indicating that nanostructures can improve surface wettability in the hydrophilic direction, and liquid spreading (propagation) is generated by capillary wicking. The majority of the existing research involves qualitative analysis of the spreading phenomena, owing to the difficulty in conducting small-scale analysis (nanostructures). In this study, the droplet interfacial behavior on silicon surfaces with micro/nano/micro-nano structures is experimentally investigated. The interfacial behavior is directly visualized using synchrotron X-ray imaging (side view). The spreading phenomena occur on structured surfaces, and the liquid interface behaviors on the surfaces differ. The liquid film thickness is uniform during spreading on the microstructured surface, but not on the nano case which shows a gentle slope. These combined spreading shapes were observed on a micro-nano structured surface, and liquid propagation was enhanced when the micro- and nano-structures are combined.