Optimization of Self-Cleaning Thin-Film Layer for Photovoltaic Applications.

To improve the productivity of a photovoltaic (PV) module, TiO2 thin films of different thicknesses were applied as a self-cleaning layer on soda-lime glass and a Si PV module by spray-coating a TiO2 solution. The structural, optical, and wettability characteristics of the TiO2 thin films were investigated with respect to the thickness. Thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, contact-angle analysis, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and a solar simulator were used to analyze the prepared TiO2 thin films. The optimal thickness was determined to be 100 nm. The TiO2 thin film exhibited a self-cleaning ability even after post-annealing at 250 °C. After the self-cleaning ability was confirmed, the TiO2 thin film was applied to the PV module.

Tribological and Electrical Properties of Chromium-Doped Carbon Films Fabricated by Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering for Medical Stents.

Chromium-doped carbon (Cr:C) films were fabricated by using unbalanced magnetron sputtering with chromium (Cr) and graphite (C) targets. We investigated the structural, tribological, and electrical properties of the Cr:C films fabricated with various target power densities. The surface of all the Cr:C films was smooth and uniform, and the cross section showed a more compact and clear columnar structure as the target power density increased. The root mean square surface roughness increased and the contact angle on the film surface increased with the increase in target power density. Furthermore, the hardness and elastic modulus of the Cr:C films showed improvements, while the resistivity decreased with the increase in target power density. These results are associated with the ion bombardment and resputtering owing to the effects of the applied target power density.

Characteristics of Vanadium Oxide Thin Films Fabricated by Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering for Smart Window Application.

Vanadium oxide (VOx) thin films were deposited by an unbalanced magnetron (UBM) sputtering system with a vanadium metal target and O2 reaction gas, and thermally treated at various annealing temperatures. In this work, the structural, electrical, and optical properties of the fabricated VOx films with various annealing temperatures were experimentally investigated. The UBM sputter grown VOx thin films exhibited amorphous structure, and had a very weak peak of V2O5 (002) owing to very thin films. However, the crystallite size of VOx films increased with increasing annealing temperature. The surface roughness of VOx films and average transmittance decreased with increasing annealing temperature. The resistivity of VOx films also decreased with increasing annealing temperature, while the electrical properties of films improved.

Tribological and Electrical Properties of Diamond-Like Carbon Films Deposited by Filtered Vacuum Arc Method for Medical Guidewire Application.

A good medical guidewires are used to introduce stents, catheters, and other medical devices inside the human body. In this study, diamond-like carbon (DLC) film was proposed to solve the poor adhesion problem of guidewire and to improve the tribological performance of guidewire. DLC films were fabricated on Si substrate by using FVA (Filtered Vacuum Arc) method. In this work, the tribological, structural, and electrical properties of the fabricated DLC films with various arc currents were experimentally investigated. All DLC films showed smooth and uniform surface with increasing applied arc current. The rms surface roughness was increased and the value of contact angle on the film surface was decreased with increasing arc current. The hardness and elastic modulus of DLC films were improved, and the resistivity value of DLC films were decreased with increasing arc current. These results are associated with ion bombardment effects by the applied arc current and bias voltage.

Effects of Rapid Thermal Treatment on Characteristics of Magnetron-Sputtered NiO Thin Films for Supercapacitor Applications.

Supercapacitors are promising energy storage devices due to their high power density, long cycling life, and short charging time. NiO is one of the alternative inorganic materials that could be used to replace the conventional RuO2 electrodes in these supercapacitors. In the present study, NiO thin film was prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering using a NiO alloy target. This process offeres several advantages such as the superior adhesion of the resulting thin films and the easy control of the deposition rate. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at different annealing temperatures was used to control the properties of the NiO thin films intended for supercapacitor applications. The lattice imperfections and interstitials/vacancies in the NiO thin films were influenced by the annealing temperature, and subsequently affected the bandgaps, optical transmittance, carrier concentration, and resistivity. Consequently, the the supercapacitive behavior was influenced by the surface area and the variation on the homogeneity of the crystallites in the NiO thin films with a change in the annealing temperature.

Characteristics of Sputtered Cr Thin Films and Application as a Working Electrode in Transparent Conductive Oxide-Less Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

Cr metal electrode was suggested as the working electrode material to fabricate DSSCs without the TCO, and thin films were fabricated by an unbalanced magnetron sputtering system. The surface morphologies show uniform and smooth surfaces regardless of various film thicknesses, and the small crystallites of various sizes were showed with the vertical direction on the surface of Cr thin films with the increase of film thickness. And also, the root mean square (RMS) surface roughness value of Cr thin films increased, and the sheet resistance is decreased with the increase of film thickness. The maximum cell efficiency of the TCO-less DSSC was observed when a Cr working electrode with a thickness of 80 nm was applied to the TCO-less DSSC. Consequently, these results are related to the result of the optimization of conduction characteristics, transmission properties and surface properties of Cr thin films.

Characteristics of Nitrogen Doped Diamond-Like Carbon Films Prepared by Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering for Electronic Devices.

Synthetic diamond-like carbon (DLC) is a carbon-based material used mainly in cutting tool coatings and as an abrasive material. The market for DLC has expanded into electronics, optics, and acoustics because of its distinct electrical and optical properties. In this work, n-doped DLC (N:DLC) films were deposited on p-type silicon substrates using an unbalanced magnetron sputtering (UBMS) method. We investigated the effect of the working pressure on the microstructure and electrical properties of n-doped DLC films. The structural properties of N:DLC films were investigated by Raman spectroscopy and SEM-EDX, and the electrical properties of films were investigated by observing the changes in the resistivity and current-voltage (I-V) properties. The N:DLC films prepared by UBMS in this study demonstrated good conducting and physical properties with n-doping.

Characteristics of SnO2:Sb Films as Transparent Conductive Electrodes of Flexible Inverted Organic Solar Cells.

Antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) films were deposited on polyethersulfone (PES) substrates by means of a radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method, using a SnO2 target mixed with 6 wt% Sb at room temperature and using various RF powers; these films were used as transparent electrodes in inverted organic solar cells (IOSC). We investigated the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the resulting films by means of various analyses, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible spectroscopy, and Hall effect measurements. The crystallinity and conductivity of the ATO films were increased by increasing the RF power used. Based on the experimental data acquired, we fabricated IOSCs based on ATO electrodes deposited by using various conditions. Each IOSC device was composed of an ATO electrode, a ZnO buffer layer, a photoactive layer (P3HT:PCBM), and an Al cathode. The IOSC based on an ATO electrode fabricated at the RF power of 160 W exhibited good device performance due to the electrode's high conductivity and crystallinity.

Characteristics of W Doped Nanocrystalline Carbon Films Prepared by Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering.

Nanocrystalline tungsten doped carbon (WC) films were prepared by unbalanced magnetron sputtering. Tungsten was used as the doping material in carbon thin films with the aim of application as a contact strip in an electric railway. The structural, physical, and electrical properties of the fabricated WC films with various DC bias voltages were investigated. The films had a uniform and smooth surface. Hardness and frication characteristics of the films were improved, and the resistivity and sheet resistance decreased with increasing negative DC bias voltage. These results are associated with the nanocrystalline WC phase and sp(2) clusters in carbon networks increased by ion bombardment enhanced with increasing DC bias voltage. Consequently, the increase of sp(2) clusters containing WC nanocrystalline in the carbon films is attributed to the improvement in the physical and electrical properties.

Characteristics of Sputtered ZnO Thin Films for an Inverted Organic Solar Cell.

Several research groups have claimed high energy conversion efficiency in organic solar cells. However, it still has low efficiency and is unstable, because organic materials are easily oxidized by atmospheric humidity and UV light. In this work, ZnO thin film as the blocking layer attributed to the interference of the injection of the hole from the P3HT and no charge carrier recombination. We obtained the maximum power conversion efficiency of 1.9% under AM 1.5 G spectral illumination of 100 MWcm(-2), when we used a ZnO film of 60 nm and the optimized P3HT:PCBM, and Au as the back electrode to solve the reaction problem of Al electrode and to control the work function between the HOMO level of P3HT and the energy level of the metal electrode. Power conversion efficiency of inverted organic solar cell (IOSC) is significantly dependent on the thickness of the ZnO thin film deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering method. Also, the stability of IOSC is measured under ambient conditions.

Synthesis of CZTS Nanoparticles for Low-Cost Solar Cells.

In this work, uniformly sized Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanoparticles with easy control of chemical composition were synthesized and printable ink containing CZTS nanoparticles was prepared for low-cost-solar cell applications. In addition, we studied the effects of synthesis conditions, such as reaction temperature and time, on properties of the CZTS nanoparticles. For CZTS nanoparticles synthesis process, the reactants were mixed as the 2:1:1:4 molar ratios. The reaction temperature and time was varied from 220 degrees C to 320 degrees C and from 3 hours to 5 hours, respectively. The crystal structure and morphology of CZTS nanoparticles prepared under the various conditions were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was used for compositional analysis of the CZTS nanoparticles.

Electrical and Optical Properties of Hydrogen Doped Aluminum-Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films for Low Cost Applications.

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were prepared on glass substrate using a magnetron sputtering system. In this work, a powder target was used as a source material for low cost applications, instead of a conventional sintered ceramic target. The effects of the hydrogen gas ratio on the electrical and optical properties of the AZO films. The hydrogen doped AZO (AZO:H) films had a hexagonal polycrystalline structure. A small amount of hydrogen gas deteriorated the electrical and optical properties of the AZO:H films. However, these properties improved, as the H2/(H2 + Ar) gas ratio increased. The AZO:H films grown at an H2/(H2+Ar) ratio of 10% showed good properties for low cost applications, such as a low resistivity of 1.35 x 10(-3) Ω-cm, high average transmittance of 83.1% in the visible range of light.

Amorphous Indium Selenide Thin Films Prepared by RF Sputtering: Thickness-Induced Characteristics.

The influence of indium composition, controlled by changing the film thickness, on the optical and electrical properties of amorphous indium selenide thin films was studied for the application of these materials as Cd-free buffer layers in CI(G)S solar cells. Indium selenide thin films were prepared using RF magnetron sputtering method. The indium composition of the amorphous indium selenide thin films was varied from 94.56 to 49.72 at% by increasing the film thickness from 30 to 70 nm. With a decrease in film thickness, the optical transmittance increased from 87.63% to 96.03% and Eg decreased from 3.048 to 2.875 eV. Carrier concentration and resistivity showed excellent values of ≥1015 cm(-3) and ≤ 10(4) Ω x cm, respectively. The conductivity type of the amorphous indium selenide thin films could be controlled by changing the film-thickness-induced amount of In. These results indicate the possibility of tuning the properties of amorphous indium selenide thin films by changing their composition for use as an alternate buffer layer material in CI(G)S solar cells.

Thickness Effects of TiC Interlayer on Tribological Properties of Diamond-Like Carbon Prepared by Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering Method.

We investigated the tribological properties of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films prepared with TiC interlayer of various thicknesses as the adhesive layer. DLC and TiC thin films were prepared using unbalanced magnetron (UBM) sputtering method using graphite and titanium as targets. TiC films as the interlayer were deposited under DLC films and various physical, tribological, and structural properties of the films fabricated with various TiC interlayer thicknesses were investigated. With various TiC interlayer thicknesses under DLC films, the tribological properties of films were improved with increasing thickness and the DLC/TiC layer fabricated by unbalanced magnetron sputtering method are exhibited maximum high hardness over 27 GPa and high elastic modulus over 242 GPa, and a smooth surface below 0.09 nm.

Growth control of carbon nanotubes using by anodic aluminum oxide nano templates.

Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO) template prepared in acid electrolyte possess regular and highly anisotropic porous structure with pore diameter range from five to several hundred nanometers, and with a density of pores ranging from 10(9) to 10(11) cm(-2). AAO can be used as microfilters and templates for the growth of CNTs and metal or semiconductor nanowires. Varying anodizing conditions such as temperature, electrolyte, applied voltage, anodizing and widening time, one can control the diameter, the length, and the density of pores. In this work, we deposited Al thin film by radio frequency magnetron sputtering method to fabricate AAO nano template and synthesized multi-well carbon nanotubes on a glass substrate by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPECVD). AAO nano-porous templates with various pore sizes and depths were introduced to control the dimension and density of CNT arrays. The AAO nano template was synthesize on glass by two-step anodization technique. The average diameter and interpore distance of AAO nano template are about 65 nm and 82 nm. The pore density and AAO nano template thickness are about 2.1 x 10(10) pores/cm2 and 1 microm, respectively. Aligned CNTs on the AAO nano template were synthesized by MPECVD at 650 degrees C with the Ni catalyst layer. The length and diameter of CNTs were grown 2 microm and 50 nm, respectively.

Characterization of nanocrystalline conductive a-C as the electrode used in the bottom-gated structure of a pentacene-based organic thin film transistor.

Nanocrystalline amorphous carbon (nc a-C) films recently prepared in our laboratory exhibited very low resistivity (< 1 momega x cm) and good conductivity without any dopant. They also showed properties such as good adhesion to glass and plastic substrates, smooth surface, low friction coefficient, thermal stability, and high transparency. We applied nc a-C films to the bottom-gated electrodes of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). In this work, we describe the characterization of conductive nc a-C films synthesized by closed-field unbalanced magnetron (CFUBM) sputtering and fabricate OTFTs of a bottom gate structure using pentacene as the active layer and polyvinylphenol (PVP) as the gate dielectric on the nc a-C gate electrode. We investigated the surface and electrical properties of each layer using an AFM method and estimated the device properties of OTFTs including I(D)-V(D), I(D)-V(G), threshold voltage V(T), on/off ratio, and field effect mobility.

Synthesis of carbon nanotubes on diamond-like carbon by the hot filament plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted considerable attention as possible routes to device miniaturization due to their excellent mechanical, thermal, and electronic properties. These properties show great potential for devices such as field emission displays, transistors, and sensors. The growth of CNTs can be explained by interaction between small carbon patches and the metal catalyst. The metals such as nickel, cobalt, gold, iron, platinum, and palladium are used as the catalysts for the CNT growth. In this study, diamond-like carbon (DLC) was used for CNT growth as a nonmetallic catalyst layer. DLC films were deposited by a radio frequency (RF) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) method with a mixture of methane and hydrogen gases. CNTs were synthesized by a hot filament plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (HF-PECVD) method with ammonia (NH3) as a pretreatment gas and acetylene (C2H2) as a carbon source gas. The grown CNTs and the pretreated DLC films were observed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) measurement, and the structure of the grown CNTs was analyzed by high resolution transmission scanning electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Also, using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) measurement, we confirmed that only the carbon component remained on the substrate.