에너지 패러다임의 변화가 요구되는 현대에 수소는 매력적인 에너지원이다. 이러한 수소를 정제하는 기술 중에서 분리막을 이용한 기술은 저비용으로 고순도의 수소를 정제할 수 있는 기술로 주목받고 있다. 그러나 수소 분리 성능이 뛰어 난 팔라듐(Pd)은 가격이 매우 비싸 이를 대체한 소재가 필요하다. 본 연구에서는 수소 투과 성능은 좋으나 수소 취성에 약한 니오븀(Nb)과 수소 투과 성능은 떨어지나 내구성이 뛰어난 니켈(Ni)과 지르코늄(Zr)을 혼합한 합금으로 분리막을 제조하여 1~4 bar, 350~450 °C 조건에서 수소 투과 특성을 확인하였다. Pd를 코팅하지 않은 Ni48Nb32Zr20 분리막의 경우 최대 0.69 ml/cm2/min의 투과량을 보였으며, Pd가 코팅된 경우에는 최대 13.05 ml/cm2/min의 투과량을 보였다.

In this study, the various process conditions for high-power DC Magnetron Sputtering (DCMS) on the surface roughness of carbon thin films were investigated. The optimal conditions for Si/C coating were 40min for deposition time, which does not deviate from normal plasma, to obtain the maximum deposition rate, and the conditions for the best surface roughness were – 16volt bias voltage and 400watt DC power with 1.3x10-3torr chamber pressure. Under these optimal conditions, an excellent carbon thin film with a surface roughness of 1.62nm and a thickness of 724nm was obtained. As a result of XPS analysis, it was confirmed that the GLC structure ( bonding) was more dominant than the DLC structure ( bonding) in the thin film structure of the carbon composite layer formed by DC sputtering. Except in infrequent cases of relatively plasma instability, the lower bias voltage and applied power induces smaller surface roughness value due to the cooling effect and particle densification. For the optimal conditions for Graphite/C composite layer coating, a roughness of 36.3 nm and a thickness of 711 nm was obtained under the same conditions of the optimal process conditions for Si/C coating. This layer showed a immensely low roughness value compared to the roughness of bare graphite of 242 nm which verifies that carbon coating using DC sputtering is highly effective in modifying the surface of graphite molds for glass forming.

Tb3+-doped CaNb2O6 (CaNb2O6:Tb3+) thin films were deposited on quartz substrates at a growth temperature of 300 °C using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The deposited thin films were annealed at several annealing temperatures for 20 min and characterized for their structural, morphological, and luminescent properties. The experimental results showed that the annealing temperature had a significant effect on the properties of the CaNb2O6:Tb3+ thin films. The crystalline structure of the as-grown CaNb2O6:Tb3+ thin films transformed from amorphous to crystalline after annealing at temperatures greater than or equal to 700 °C. The emission spectra of the thin films under excitation at 251 nm exhibited a dominant emission band at 546 nm arising from the 5D4 → 7F5 magnetic dipole transition of Tb3+ and three weak emission bands at 489, 586, and 620 nm, respectively. The intensity of the 5D4 → 7F5 (546 nm) magnetic dipole transition was greater than that of the 5D4 → 7F6 (489 nm) electrical dipole transition, indicating that the Tb3+ ions in the host crystal were located at sites with inversion symmetry. The average transmittance at wavelengths of 370~1,100 nm decreased from 86.8 % at 700 °C to 80.5 % at an annealing temperature of 1,000 °C, and a red shift was observed in the bandgap energy with increasing annealing temperature. These results suggest that the annealing temperature plays a crucial role in developing green light-emitting CaNb2O6:Tb3+ thin films for application in electroluminescent displays.

This research studied the electrical characteristics, IR transmission characteristics, stealth functions, and thermal characteristics of infrared thermal-imaging cameras of copper-sputtered samples. Nylon samples were prepared for each density as a base material for copper-sputtering treatment. Copper-sputtered NFi, NM1, NM2, NM3, NM4, and NM5, showed electrical resistance of 0.8, 445.7, 80.7, 29.7, 0.3, and 2.2 Ω, respectively, all of which are very low values; for the mesh sample, the lower the density, the lower the electrical resistance. Measuring the IR transmittance showed that the infrared transmittance of the copper-sputtered samples was significantly reduced compared to the untreated sample. Compared to the untreated samples, the transmittance went from 92.0–64.1%. When copper sputtered surface was directed to the IR irradiator, the IR transmittance went from 73.5 to 43.8%. As the density of the sample increased, the transmittance tended to decreased. After the infrared thermal imaging, the absolute values of △R, △G, and △B of the copper phase increased from 2 to 167, 98 to 192, and 7 to 118, respectively, and the closer the density of the sample (NM5→NFi), the larger the absolute value. This proves that the dense copper phase-up sample has a stealth effect on the infrared thermal imaging camera. It is believed that the copper-sputtered nylon samples produced in this study have applications in multifunctional uniforms, bio-signal detection sensors, stage costumes, etc.

This study examines the surface characteristics, electrical conductivity, electromagnetic wave blocking characteristics, infrared (IR) transmittance, stealth function, thermal characteristics, and moisture characteristics of IR thermal imaging cameras. Nylon film (NFi), nylon fabric (NFa), and 5 types of nylon mesh were selected as the base materials for aluminum sputtering, and aluminum sputtering was performed to study IR thermal imaging, color difference, temperature change, and so on, and the relationship with infrared transmittance was assessed. The electrical conductivity was measured and the aluminum-sputtered nylon film demonstrated 25.6kΩ of surface resistance and high electrical conductivity. In addition, the electromagnetic wave shielding characteristics of the sputtering-treated nylon film samples were noticeably increased as a result of aluminum sputtering treatment as measured by the electromagnetic wave blocking characteristics. When NFi and NFa samples with single-sided sputtering were placed on the human body (sputtering layer faced the outside air) and imaged using IR thermographic cameras, the sputtering layer displayed a color similar to the surroundings, showing a stealth effect. Moreover, the tighter the sample density, the better the stealth function. According to the L, a, b measurements, when the sputtering layer of NFi and NFa samples faced the outside air, the value of a was generally high, thereby demonstrating a concealing effect, and the E value was also high at 124.2 and 93.9, revealing a significant difference between the treated and untreated samples. This research may be applicable to various fields, such as the military wear, conductive sensors, electromagnetic wave shielding film, and others.

Molybdenum is used in electrical contacts, industrial motors, and transportation materials due to its remarkable ability to resist heat and corrosion. It is also used to flame coat other metals. This study investigated, the thermal characteristics of the molybdenum sputtered material, such as electrical conductivity, and stealth effects on infrared thermal imaging cameras. To this end, molybdenum sputtered samples were prepared by varying the density of the base sample and the type of base materials used. Thereafter, the produced samples were evaluated for their surface state, electrical conductivity, electromagnetic field characteristics, thermal characteristics, stealth effect on infrared thermal imaging cameras, and moisture characteristics. As a result of infrared thermal imaging, the molybdenum layer was directed towards the outside air, and when the sample was a film, it demonstrated a greater stealth effect than the fabric. When the molybdenum layer was directed to the outside air, all of the molybdenum sputtering-treated samples exhibited a lower surface temperature than the “untreated sample.” In addition, as a result of confirming electrical properties following the molybdenum sputtering treatment, it was determined that the film exhibited better electrical conductivity than the fabric. All samples that were subjected to molybdenum sputtering exhibited significantly reduced electromagnetic and IR transmission. As a result, the stealth effect on infrared thermal imaging cameras is considered to be a better way of interpreting heat transfer than infrared transmission. These results are expected to have future applications in high-performance smartwear, military uniforms, and medical wear.

Aluminum nitride having a dense hexagonal structure is used as a high-temperature material because of its excellent heat resistance and high mechanical strength; its excellent piezoelectric properties are also attracting attention. The structure and residual stress of AlN thin films formed on glass substrate using TFT sputtering system are examined by XRD. The deposition conditions are nitrogen gas pressures of 1 × 102, 6 × 103, and 3 × 103, substrate temperature of 523 K, and sputtering time of 120 min. The structure of the AlN thin film is columnar, having a c-axis, i.e., a <00·1> orientation, which is the normal direction of the glass substrate. An X-ray stress measurement method for crystalline thin films with orientation properties such as columnar structure is proposed and applied to the residual stress measurement of AlN thin films with orientation <00·1>. Strength of diffraction lines other than 00·2 diffraction is very weak. As a result of stress measurement using AlN powder sample as a comparative standard sample, tensile residual stress is obtained when the nitrogen gas pressure is low, but the gas pressure increases as the residual stress is shifts toward compression. At low gas pressure, the unit cell expands due to the incorporation of excess nitrogen atoms.

Recent advances in technology using ultra-thin noble metal film in oxide/metal/oxide structures have attracted attention because this material is a promising alternative to meet the needs of transparent conduction electrodes (TCE). AZO/ Ag/AZO multilayer films are prepared by magnetron sputtering for Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) of kesterite solar cells. It is shown that the electrical and optical properties of the AZO/Ag/AZO multilayer films can be improved by the very low resistivity and surface plasmon effects due to the deposition of different thicknesses of Ag layer between oxide layers fixed at AZO 30 nm. The AZO/Ag/AZO multilayer films of Ag 15 nm show high mobility of 26.4 cm2/Vs and low resistivity and sheet resistance of 3.58*10−5 Ωcm and 5.0 Ω/sq. Also, the AZO/Ag (15 nm)/AZO multilayer film shows relatively high transmittance of more than 65% in the visible region. Through this, we fabricated CZTSSe thin film solar cells with 7.51% efficiency by improving the short-circuit current density and fill factor to 27.7 mV/cm2 and 62 %, respectively.

Amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) thin film transistors, because of their relatively low mobility, have limits in attempts to fulfill high-end specifications for display backplanes. In-Zn-O (IZO) is a promising semiconductor material for high mobility device applications with excellent transparency to visible light region and low temperature process capability. In this paper, the effects of working pressure on the physical and electrical properties of IZO films and thin film transistors are investigated. The working pressure is modulated from 2 mTorr to 5 mTorr, whereas the other process conditions are fixed. As the working pressure increases, the extracted optical band gap of IZO films gradually decreases. Absorption coefficient spectra indicate that subgap states increase at high working pressure. Furthermore, IZO film fabricated at low working pressure shows smoother surface morphology. As a result, IZO thin film transistors with optimum conditions exhibit excellent switching characteristics with high mobility (≥ 30cm2/Vs) and large on/off ratio.

ZnO thin-films are grown on a p-Si(111) substrate by RF sputtering. The effects of growth temperature and O2 mixture ratio on the ZnO films are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and roomtemperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements. All the grown ZnO thin films show a strong preferred orientation along the c-axis, with an intense ultraviolet emission centered at 377 nm. However, when O2 is mixed with the sputtering gas, the half width at half maximum (FWHM) of the XRD peak increases and the deep-level defect-related emission PL band becomes pronounced. In addition, an n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diode is fabricated by photolithographic processes and characterized using its current-voltage (I-V) characteristic curve and photoresponsivity. The fabricated n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diode exhibits typical rectifying I-V characteristics, with turn-on voltage of about 1.1 V and ideality factor of 1.7. The ratio of current density at ± 3 V of the reverse and forward bias voltage is about 5.8 × 103, which demonstrates the switching performance of the fabricated diode. The photoresponse of the diode under illumination of chopped with 40 Hz white light source shows fast response time and recovery time of 0.5 msec and 0.4 msec, respectively.

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.

We have investigated the properties of thin film transistors(TFT) fabricated using zinc tin oxide(ZTO) thin films deposited via on-axis sputtering and FTS methods. ZTO thin films deposited by FTS showed lower root-mean-square(RMS) roughness and more uniformity than those deposited via on-axis sputtering. We observed enhanced electrical properties of ZTO TFT deposited via FTS. The ZTO films were deposited at room temperature via on-axis sputtering and FTS. The as-deposited ZTO films were annealed at 400 oC. The TFT using the ZTO films deposited via FTS process exhibited a high mobility of 12.91 cm2/V.s, a low swing of 0.80 V/decade, Vth of 5.78 V, and a high Ion/off ratio of 2.52 × 106.

The microstructural properties and electrical characteristics of sputtering films deposited with a Cu-Ga target are analyzed. The Cu-Ga target is prepared using the cold spray process and shows generally uniform composition distributions, as suggested by secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS) data. Characteristics of the sputtered Cu-Ga films are investigated at three positions (top, center and bottom) of the Cu-Ga target by X-ray diffraction (XRD), SIMS, 4-point probe and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis methods. The results show that the Cu-Ga films are composed of hexagonal and unknown phases, and they have similar distributions of composition and resistivity at the top, center, and bottom regions of the Cu-Ga target. It demonstrates that these films have uniform properties regardless of the position on the Cu-Ga target. In conclusion, the cold spray process is expected to be a useful method for preparing sputter targets.

Cu-Mn compacts are fabricated by the pulsed current activated sintering method (PCAS) for sputtering target application. For fabricating the compacts, optimized sintering conditions such as the temperature, pulse ratio, pressure, and heating rate are controlled during the sintering process. The final sintering temperature and heating rate required to fabricate the target materials having high density are 700oC and 80oC/min, respectively. The heating directly progresses up to 700oC with a 3 min holding time. The sputtering target materials having high relative density of 100% are fabricated by employing a uniaxial pressure of 60 MPa and a sintering temperature of 700oC without any significant change in the grain size. Also, the shrinkage displacement of the Cu-Mn target materials considerably increases with an increase in the pressure at sintering temperatures up to 700oC.

Aluminum nitride, a compound semiconductor, has a Wurtzite structure; good material properties such as high thermal conductivity, great electric conductivity, high dielectric breakdown strength, a wide energy band gap (6.2eV), a fast elastic wave speed; and excellent in thermal and chemical stability. Furthermore, the thermal expansion coefficient of the aluminum nitride is similar to those of Si and GaAs. Due to these characteristics, aluminum nitride can be applied to electric packaging components, dielectric materials, SAW (surface acoustic wave) devices, and photoelectric devices. In this study, we surveyed the crystallization and preferred orientation of AlN thin films with an X-ray diffractometer. To fabricate the AlN thin film, we used the magnetron sputtering method with N2, NH3 and Ar. According to an increase in the partial pressures of N2 and NH3, Al was nitrified and deposited onto a substrate in a molecular form. When AlN was fabricated with N2, it showed a c-axis orientation and tended toward a high orientation with an increase in the temperature. On the other hand, when AlN was fabricated with NH3, it showed a-axis orientation. This result is coincident with the proposed mechanism. We fabricated AlN thin films with an a-axis orientation by controlling the sputtering electric power, NH3 pressure, deposition speed, and substrate temperature. According to the proposed mechanism, we also fabricated AlN thin films which demonstrated high aaxis and c-axis orientations.

Metal films (i.e., Ti, Al and SUH310S) were prepared in a magnetron sputtering apparatus, and their cross-sectional structures were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. The apparatus used consisted of a cylindrical metal target which was electrically grounded, and two anode rings attached to the top and to the bottom of the target. A wire was placed along the center-line of the cylindrical target to provide a substrate. When the electrical potential of the substrate was varied, the metal-film formation rate depended on both the discharge voltage and the electrical potential of the substrate. As we made the magnetic field stronger, the plasma which appeared near the target collected on the plasma wall surface and thereby decreased the bias current. The bias current on the conducting wire was different from that for cation collection. The bias current decreased because the collection of cations decreased when we increased the magnetic-coil current. When the substrate was electrically isolated, the films deposited showed a slightly coarse columnar structure with thin voids between adjacent columns. In contrast, in the case of the grounded substrate, the deposited film did not show any clear columns but instead, showed a densely-packed granular structure. No peeling region was observed between the film and substrate, indicating good adhesion.

In this study, we report the sintering behavior and properties of a Ge2Sb2Te5 alloy powders for use as asputtering target by spark plasma sintering. The effect of various sintering parameters, such as pressure, temperature andtime, on the density and hardness of the target has been investigated in detail. Structural characterization was performedby scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Hardness and thermal properties were measured by differentialscanning calorimetry and micro-vickers hardness tester. The density and hardness of the sintered Ge2Sb2Te5 materialswere 5.8976~6.3687 g/cm3 and 32~75 Hv, respectively.

The effect of a sputter deposition sequence of Cu, Zn, and Sn metal layers on the properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) was systematically studied for solar cell applications. The set of Cu/Sn/Zn/Cu multi metal films was deposited on a Mo/SiO2/Si wafer using dc sputtering. CZTS films were prepared through a sulfurization process of the Cu/Sn/Zn/Cu metal layers at 500˚C in a H2S gas environment. H2S (0.1%) gas of 200 standard cubic centimeters per minute was supplied in the cold-wall sulfurization reactor. The metal film prepared by one-cycle deposition of Cu(360 nm)/Sn(400 nm)/Zn(400 nm)/Cu(440 nm) had a relatively rough surface due to a well-developed columnar structure growth. A dense and smooth metal surface was achieved for two- or three-cycle deposition of Cu/Sn/Zn/Cu, in which each metal layer thickness was decreased to 200 nm. Moreover, the three-cycle deposition sample showed the best CZTS kesterite structures after 5 hr sulfurization treatment. The two- and three-cycle Cu/Sn/Zn/Cu samples showed high-efficient photoluminescence (PL) spectra after a 3 hr sulfurization treatment, wheres the one-cycle sample yielded poor PL efficiency. The PL spectra of the three-cycle sample showed a broad peak in the range of 700-1000 nm, peaked at 870 nm (1.425 eV). This result is in good agreement with the reported bandgap energy of CZTS.

The ZnO thin films were grown on GaN template substrates by RF magnetron sputtering at different RF powers and n-ZnO/p-GaN heterojunction LEDs were fabricated to investigate the effect of the RF power on the characteristics of the n-ZnO/p-GaN LEDs. For the growth of the ZnO thin films, the substrate temperature was kept constant at 200˚C and the RF power was varied within the range of 200 to 500W at different growth times to deposit films of 100 nm thick. The electrical, optical and structural properties of ZnO thin films were investigated by ellipsometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL) and by assessing the Hall effect. The characteristics of the n-ZnO/p-GaN LEDs were evaluated by current-voltage (I-V) and electroluminescence (EL) measurements. ZnO thin films were grown with a preferred c-axis orientation along the (0002) plane. The XRD peaks shifted to low angles and the surface roughness became non-uniform with an increase in the RF power. Also, the PL emission peak was red-shifted. The carrier density and the mobility decreased with the RF power. For the n-ZnO/p-GaN LED, the forward current at 20 V decreased and the threshold voltage increased with the RF power. The EL emission peak was observed at approximately 435 nm and the luminescence intensity decreased. Consequently, the crystallinity of the ZnO thin films grown with RF sputtering powers were improved. However, excess Zn affected the structural, electrical and optical properties of the ZnO thin films when the optimal RF power was exceeded. This excess RF power will degrade the characteristics of light emitting devices.

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 preparedon glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering with different sputtering powers ranging from 100W to 200W at a substratetemperature of 350oC. The effects of the sputtering power on the structural, morphological, electrical, and optical propertiesof MGZO thin films were investigated. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed that all the MGZO thin films were grown asa hexagonal wurtzite phase with the preferred orientation on the c-axis without secondary phases such as MgO, Ga2O3, orZnGa2O4. The intensity of the diffraction peak from the (0002) plane of the MGZO thin films was enhanced as the sputteringpower increased. The (0002) peak positions of the MGZO thin films was shifted toward, a high diffraction angle as thesputtering power increased. Cross-sectional field emission scanning electron microscopy images of the MGZO thin filmsshowed 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 carrierconcentration (4.71×1020cm−3), charge carrier mobility (10.2cm2V−1s−1) and a minimum resistivity (1.3×10−3Ωcm). A UV-visible spectroscopy assessment showed that the MGZO thin films had high transmittance of more than 80% in the visibleregion and that the absorption edges of MGZO thin films were very sharp and shifted toward the higher wavelength side, from270nm to 340nm, with an increase in the sputtering power. The band-gap energy of MGZO thin films was widened from3.74eV to 3.92eV with the change in the sputtering power.