We investigate the effect of light intensity and wavelength of a solar cell device using photoconductive atomic force microscopy(PC-AFM). A POCl3 diffusion doping process is used to produce a p-n junction solar cell device based on a poly- Si wafer, and the electrical properties of prepared solar cells are measured using a solar cell simulator system. The measured open circuit voltage(Voc) is 0.59 V and the short circuit current(Isc) is 48.5 mA. Moreover, the values of the fill factors and efficiencies of the devices are 0.7 and approximately 13.6%, respectively. In addition, PC-AFM, a recent notable method for nano-scale characterization of photovoltaic elements, is used for direct measurements of photoelectric characteristics in limited areas instead of large areas. The effects of changes in the intensity and wavelength of light shining on the element on the photoelectric characteristics are observed. Results obtained through PC-AFM are compared with the electric/optical characteristics data obtained through a solar simulator. The voltage(VPC-AFM) at which the current is 0 A in the I-V characteristic curves increases sharply up to 18 W/m2, peaking and slowly falling as light intensity increases. Here, VPC-AFM at 18 W/m2 is 0.29 V, which corresponds to 59 % of the average Voc value, as measured with the solar simulator. Furthermore, while the light wavelength increases from 300 nm to 1,100 nm, the external quantum efficiency(EQE) and results from PC-AFM show similar trends at the macro scale but reveal different results in several sections, indicating the need for detailed analysis and improvement in the future.

Finite element analyses are carried out to understand the piezoelectric behaviors of ZnO nanowires. Three different types of ZnO nanowires, with aspect ratios of 1:2. 1:31, and 1:57, are analyzed for uniaxial compression, pure bending, and buckling. Under the uniaxial compression with a strain of 1.0 × 10−4 as the reference state, it is predicted that all three types of nanowires develop the same magnitude of the piezoelectric fields, which suggests that longer nanowires exhibit higher piezoelectric potential. However, this prediction is not in agreement with the experimental results previously reported in the literature. Such discrepancy is understood when the piezoelectric behaviors under bending and buckling are considered. When only the strain field due to bending is present in bending or buckling, the antisymmetric nature of the through-thickness stain distribution indicates that two piezoelectric fields, the same in magnitude and opposite in sign, develop along the thickness direction, which cancels each other out, resulting in a zero net piezoelectric field. Once additional strain contribution due to axial deformation is superposed on the bending, such field cancelling is compensated for due to the axial component of the piezoelectric field. Such numerical predictions seem to explain the reported experimental results while providing a guideline for the design of nanowire-based piezoelectric devices.

H13 tool steels are widely used as metallic mold materials due to their high hardness and thermal stability. Recently, many studies are undertaken to satisfy the demands for manufacturing the complex shape of the mold using a 3D printing technique. It is reported that the mechanical properties of 3D printed materials are lower than those of commercial forged alloys owing to micropores. In this study, we investigate the effect of microstructures and defects on mechanical properties in the 3D printed H13 tool steels. H13 tool steel is fabricated using a selective laser melting(SLM) process with a scan speed of 200 mm/ s and a layer thickness of 25 μm. Microstructures are observed and porosities are measured by optical and scanning electron microscopy in the X-, Y-, and Z-directions with various the build heights. Tiny keyhole type pores are observed with a porosity of 0.4%, which shows the lowest porosity in the center region. The measured Vickers hardness is around 550 HV and the yield and tensile strength are 1400 and 1700 MPa, respectively. The tensile properties are predicted using two empirical equations through the measured values of the Vickers hardness. The prediction of tensile strength has high accuracy with the experimental data of the 3D printed H13 tool steel. The effects of porosities and unmelted powders on mechanical properties are also elucidated by the metallic fractography analysis to understand tensile and fracture behavior.

We report the properties of infrared photodetectors based on two kinds of quantum dots(QDs): i) 2.0 ML InAs QDs by the Stranski-Krastanov growth mode(SK QDs) and ii) sub-monolayer QDs by 4 × [0.3 ML/1 nm In0.15Ga0.85As] deposition(SML QDs). The QD infrared photodetector(QDIP) structure of n+-n−(QDs)-n+ is epitaxially grown on GaAs (100) wafers using molecular-beam epitaxy. Both the bottom and top contact GaAs layers are Si doped at 2 × 1018/cm3. The QD layers are grown with Si doping of 2 × 1017/cm3 and capped by an In0.15Ga0.85As layer at 495 oC. The photoluminescence peak(1.24 eV) of the SML QDIP is blue-shifted with respect to that (1.04 eV) of SK QDIPs, suggesting that the electron ground state of SML QDIP is higher than that of the SK QDIP. As a result, the photoresponse regime(~9-14 μm) of the SML QDIP is longer than that (~6-12 μm) of the SK QDIP. The dark current of the SML QDIP is two orders of magnitude smaller value than that of the SK QDIP because of the inserted Al0.08Ga0.92As layer.

ZrO2 is a candidate material for hip and knee joint replacements because of its excellent combination of biocompatibility, corrosion resistance and low density. However, the drawback of pure ZrO2 is a low fracture toughness at room temperature. One of the most obvious tactics to cope with this problem is to fabricate a nanostructured composite material. Nanomaterials can be produced with improved mechanical properties(hardness and fracture toughness). The high-frequency induction heated sintering method takes advantage of simultaneously applying induced current and mechanical pressure during sintering. As a result, nanostructured materials can be achieved within very short time. In this study, W and ZrO2 nanopowders are mechanochemically synthesized from WO3 and Zr powders according to the reaction(WO3 + 3/2 Zr→W+ 3/2 ZrO2). The milled powders are then sintered using high-frequency induction heating within two minutes under the uniaxial pressure of 80MPa. The average fracture toughness and hardness of the nanostructured W-3/2 ZrO2 composite sintered at 1300oC are 540 kg/mm2 and 5 MPa·m1/2, respectively. The fracture toughness of the composite is higher than that of monolithic ZrO2. The phase and microstructure of the composite is also investigated by XRD and FE-SEM.

During a long-term operation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs), the fuel cell performance may degrade due to severe agglomeration and dissolution of metal nanoparticles in the cathode. To enhance the electrochemical durability of metal catalysts and to prevent the particle agglomeration in PEMFC operation, this paper proposes a hybrid catalyst structure composed of PtCo alloy nanoparticles encapsulated by porous carbon layers. In the hybrid catalyst structure, the dissolution and migration of PtCo nanoparticles can be effectively prevented by protective carbon shells. In addition, O2 can properly penetrate the porous carbon layers and react on the active Pt surface, which ensures high catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction. Although the hybrid catalyst has a much smaller active surface area due to the carbon encapsulation compared to a commercial Pt catalyst without a carbon layer, it has a much higher specific activity and significantly improved durability than the Pt catalyst. Therefore, it is expected that the designed hybrid catalyst concept will provide an interesting strategy for development of high-performance fuel cell catalysts.

The design of non-precious electrocatalysts with low-cost, good stability, and an improved oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) to replace the platinium-based electrocatalyst is significant for application of fuel cells and metal-air batteries with high energy density. In this study, we synthesize iron-carbide(Fe3C) embedded nitrogen(N) doped carbon nanofiber(CNF) as electrocatalysts for ORRs using electrospinning, precursor deposition, and carbonization. To optimize electrochemical performance, we study the three stages according to different amounts of iron precursor. Among them, Fe3C-embedded N doped CNF-1 exhibits the most improved electrochemical performance with a high onset potential of −0.18 V, a high E1/2 of −0.29 V, and a nearly four-electron pathway (n = 3.77). In addition, Fe3C-embedded N doped CNF-1 displays exellent long-term stabillity with the lowest ΔE1/2= 8 mV compared to the other electrocatalysts. The improved electrochemical properties are attributed to synergestic effect of N-doping and well-dispersed iron carbide embedded in CNF. Consequently, Fe3C-embedded N doped CNF is a promising candidate for non-precious electrocatalysts for high-performance ORRs.

In anion exchange membrane fuel cells, Pd nanoparticles are extensively studied as promising non-Pt catalysts due to their electronic structure similar to Pt. In this study, to fabricate Pd nanoparticles well dispersed on carbon support materials, we propose a synthetic strategy using mixed organic ligands with different chemical structures and functions. Simultaneously to control the Pd particle size and dispersion, a ligand mixture composed of oleylamine(OA) and trioctylphosphine(TOP) is utilized during thermal decomposition of Pd precursors. In the ligand mixture, OA serves mainly as a reducing agent rather than a stabilizer since TOP, which has a bulky structure, more strongly interacts with the Pd metal surface as a stabilizer compared to OA. The specific roles of OA and TOP in the Pd nanoparticle synthesis are studied according to the mixture composition, and the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) activity and durability of highly-dispersed Pd nanocatalysts with different particles sizes are investigated. The results of this study confirm that the Pd nanocatalyst with large particles has high durability compared to the nanocatalyst with small Pd nanoparticles during the accelerated degradation tests although they initially indicated similar ORR performance.

Two dimensional(2D) crystals, composed of a single layer or a few atomic layers extracted from layered materials are attracting researchers’ interest due to promising applications in the nanoelectromechanical systems. Worldwide researchers are preparing devices with suspended 2D materials to study their physical and electrical properties. However, during the fabrication process of 2D flakes on a target substrate, contamination occurs, which makes the measurement data less reliable. We propose a dry transfer method using poly-methyl methacrylate(PMMA) for the 2D flakes to transfer onto the targeted substrate. The PMMA is then removed from the device by an N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone solution and a critical point dryer, which makes the suspended 2D flakes residue free. Our method provides a clean, reliable and controllable way of fabricating micrometer-sized suspended 2D nanosheets.

Highly self-cleaning thin films of TiO2-SiO2 co-doped with Ag and F are prepared by the sol-gel method. The asprepared thin films consist of bottom SiO2 and top TiO2 layers which are modified by doping with F, Ag and F-Ag elements. XRD analysis confirms that the prepared thin film is a crystalline anatase phase. UV-vis spectra show that the light absorption of Ag-F-TiO2/SiO2 thin films is tuned in the visible region. The self-cleaning properties of the prepared films are evaluated by a water contact angle measurement under UV light irradiation. The photocatalytic performances of the thin films are studied using methylene blue dye under both UV and visible light irradiation. The Ag-F-TiO2/SiO2 thin films exhibit higher photocatalytic activity under both UV and visible light compared with other samples of pure TiO2, Ag-doped TiO2, and F-doped TiO2 films.

To produce carbon electrodes for use in perovskite solar cells, electrode samples are prepared by mixing various weight ratios of 35 nm nano carbon(NC) and 1 μm graphite flakes(GF), GF/(NC+GF) = 0, 0.5, 0.7, and 1, in chlorobenzene(CB) solvent with a ZrO2 binder. The carbon electrodes are fabricated as glass/FTO/carbon electrode devices for microstructure characterization using transmission electron microscopy, optical microscopy, and a field emission scanning electron microscopy. The electrical characterization is performed with a four-point probe and a multi tester. The microstructure characterization shows that an electrode with excellent attachment to the substrate and no surface cracks at weight ratios above 0.5. The electrical characterization results show that the sheet resistance is < 70 Ω/sq and the interface resistance is < 70 Ω at weight ratios of 0.5 and 0.7. Therefore, a carbon paste electrode with microstructure and electrical properties similar to those of commercial carbon electrodes is proposed with an appropriate mixing ratio of NC and GF containing a CB solvent and ZrO2.

Laminate composites composed of 0.95Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3-0.05Pb(Mn1/3Sb2/3)O3 piezoelectric ceramic and Fe-Si-B based magnetostrictive amorphous alloy are fabricated, and the effect of control of the areal dimensions and the thickness of the piezoelectric layer on the magnetoelectric(ME) properties of the laminate composites is studied. As the aspect ratio of the piezoelectric layer and the magnetostrictive layer increases, the maximum value of the ME voltage coefficient(αME) increases and the intensity of the DC magnetic field at which the maximum αME value appears decreases. Moreover, as the thickness of the piezoelectric layer decreases, αME tends to increase. The ME composites exhibit αME values higher than 1 Vcm−1Oe−1 even at the non-resonance frequency of 1 kHz. This study shows that, apart from the inherent characteristics of the piezoelectric composition, small thicknesses and high aspect ratios of the piezoelectric layer are important dimensional determinants for achieving high ME performance of the piezoelectric-magnetostrictive laminate composite.

To study the effects of graphite shape and the composite fabricating method on the mechanical properties of graphite/copper (Gr/Cu) composites, a copper composite using graphite flakes or graphite granules as reinforcing phases is fabricated using mechanical mixing or electroless plating method. The mechanical properties of the Gr/Cu composites are evaluated by compression tests, and the compressive strength and elongation of the Gr/Cu composites using graphite granules as a reinforcing phase are compared with those of Cu composites with graphite flakes as a reinforcing phase. The compressive yield strength or maximum strength of the Gr/Cu composites with graphite granules as a reinforcing phase is higher than that of the composites using graphite flakes as a reinforcing phase regardless of the alignment of graphite. The strength of the composite produced by the electroless plating method is higher than that of the composite material produced by the conventional mechanical mixing method regardless of the shape of the graphite. Using graphite granules as a reinforcing phase instead of graphite flakes improves the strength and elongation of the Gr/Cu composites in all directions, and reduces the difference in strength or elongation according to the direction.

This study investigates the microstructural properties of CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy (HEA) oxynitride thin film. The HEA oxynitride thin film is grown by the magnetron sputtering method using nitrogen and oxygen gases. The grown CoCrFeMnNi HEA film shows a microstructure with nanocrystalline regions of 5~20 nm in the amorphous region, which is confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). From the TEM electron diffraction pattern analysis crystal structure is determined to be a face centered cubic (FCC) structure with a lattice constant of 0.491 nm, which is larger than that of CoCrFeMnNi HEA. The HEA oxynitride film shows a single phase in which constituting elements are distributed homogeneously as confirmed by element mapping using a Cs-corrected scanning TEM (STEM). Mechanical properties of the CoCrFeMnNi HEA oxynitride thin film are addressed by a nano indentation method, and a hardness of 8.13 GPa and a Young’s modulus of 157.3 GPa are obtained. The observed high hardness value is thought to be the result of hardening due to the nanocrystalline microstructure.

ZnO micro/nanocrystals are formed by a vapor transport method. Mixtures of ZnO and TiO powders are used as the source materials. The TiO powder acts as a reducing agent to reduce the ZnO to Zn and plays an important role in the formation of ZnO micro/nanocrystals. The vapor transport process is carried out in air at atmospheric pressure. When the weight ratios of TiO to ZnO in the source material are lower than 1:2, no ZnO micro/nanocrystals are formed. However, when the ratios of TiO to ZnO in the source material are greater than 1:1, the ZnO crystals with one-dimensional wire morphology are formed. In the room temperature cathodoluminescence spectra of all the products, a strong ultraviolet emission centered at 380 nm is observed. As the ratio of TiO to ZnO in the source material increases from 1:2 to 1:1, the intensity ratio of ultraviolet to visible emission increases, suggesting that the crystallinity of the ZnO crystals is improved. Only the ultraviolet emission is observed for the ZnO crystals prepared using the source material with a TiO/ZnO ratio of 2:1.

This study investigates the effect of fatigue stress on the damping capacity in a damaged Fe-22Mn-12Cr-3Ni-2Si- 4Co damping alloy under fatigue stress. α’ and ε-martensite forms by fatigue stress in the damaged Fe-22Mn-12Cr-3Ni-2Si- 4Co damping alloy under fatigue stress. The α’ and ε-martensite forms with the specific direction and surface relief, or they cross each other. With an increasing fatigue stress, the volume fraction of α’-martensite and ε-martensite increases. With an increasing fatigue stress, the damping capacity increases with an increase in the volume fraction of ε-martensite. The increase in the damping capacity in the damaged Fe-22Mn-12Cr-3Ni-2Si-4Co alloy under fatigue stress strongly affects the increase of ε-martensite formed by fatigue stress, but the damping capacity of the damaged Fe-22Mn-12Cr-3Ni-2Si-4Co damping alloy under fatigue stress is strongly controlled by a large amount of α’-martensite.

ZnO crystals with different morphologies are synthesized through thermal evaporation of the mixture of Zn and Cu powder in air at atmospheric pressure. ZnO crystals with wire shape are synthesized when the process is performed at 1,000 oC, while tetrapod-shaped ZnO crystals begin to form at 1,100 oC. The wire-shaped ZnO crystals form even at 1,000 oC, indicating that Cu acts as a reducing agent. As the temperature increases to 1,200 oC, a large quantity of tetrapod-shaped ZnO crystals form and their size also increases. In addition to the tetrapods, rod-shaped ZnO crystals are observed. The atomic ratio of Zn and O in the ZnO crystals is approximately 1:1 with an increasing process temperature from 1,000 oC to 1,200 oC. For the ZnO crystals synthesized at 1,000 oC, no luminescence spectrum is observed. A weak visible luminescence is detected for the ZnO crystals prepared at 1,100 oC. Ultraviolet and visible luminescence peaks with strong intensities are observed in the luminescence spectrum of the ZnO crystals formed at 1,200 oC.

This study examines the effect of microstructural factors on the strength and deformability of ferrite-pearlite steels. Six kinds of ferrite-pearlite steel specimens are fabricated with the addition of different amounst of Mn and V and with varying the isothermal transformation temperature. The Mn steel specimen with a highest Mn content has the highest pearlite volume fraction because Mn addition inhibits the formation of ferrite. The V steel specimen with a highest V content has the finest ferrite grain size and lowest pearlite volume fraction because a large amount of ferrite forms in fine austenite grain boundaries that are generated by the pinning effect of many VC precipitates. On the other hand, the room-temperature tensile test results show that the V steel specimen has a longer yield point elongation than other specimens due to the highest ferrite volume fraction. The V specimen has the highest yield strength because of a larger amount of VC precipitates and grain refinement strengthening, while the Mn specimen has the highest tensile strength because the highest pearlite volume fraction largely enhances work hardening. Furthermore, the tensile strength increases with a higher transformation temperature because increasing the precipitate fraction with a higher transformation temperature improves work hardening. The results reveal that an increasing transformation temperature decreases the yield ratio. Meanwhile, the yield ratio decreases with an increasing ferrite grain size because ferrite grain size refinement largely increases the yield strength. However, the uniform elongation shows no significant changes of the microstructural factors.

Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) films were prepared on Mo coated soda lime glass substrates by sulfo-selenization of sputtered stacked Zn-Sn-Cu(CZT) precursor films. The precursor was dried in a capped state with aqueous NaOH solution. The CZT precursor films were sulfo-selenized in the S + Se vapor atmosphere. Sodium was doped during the sulfo-selenization treatment. The effect of sodium doping on the structural and electrical properties of the CZTSSe thin films were studied using FE-SEM(field-emission scanning electron microscopy), XRD(X-ray diffraction), XRF(X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy), dark current, SIMS(secondary ion mass spectrometry), conversion efficiency. The XRD, XRF, FE-SEM, Dark current, SIMS and cell efficiency results indicated that the properties of sulfo-selenized CZTSSe thin films were strongly related to the sodium doping. Further detailed analysis and discussion for effect of sodium doping on the properties CZTSSe thin films will be discussed.

Visible and IR windows require a combination of high optical transparency and superior thermal and mechanical properties. Materials, fabrication and characterization of transparent ceramics for visible/IR windows are discussed in this review. The transparent polycrystalline Y2O3, Y2O3-MgO nanocomposites and MgAl2O4 spinel ceramics are fabricated by advanced ceramic processing and the use of special sintering technologies. Ceramic processing conditions for achieveing fully densified transparent ceramics are strongly dependent on the initial powder characteristics. In addition, appropriate use of sintering technologies, including vacuum sintering, hot-pressing and spark plasama sintering methods, results in outstanding thermal and mechanical properties as well as high optical transparency of the final products. Specifically, the elimination of light scattering factors, including residual pores, second phases and grain boundaries, is a key technique for improving the characteristics of the transparent ceramics. This paper discusses the current research issues related to synthesis methods and sintering processes for yttria-based transparent ceramics and MgAl2O4 spinel.