ITO 투명 전극 필름은 디스플레이, 전기 자동차 등 산업 전 범위에서 널리 사용되는 전자 재료이다. 본 연구에서는 이러한 indium tin oxide (ITO) 필름의 열성형 안정성을 향상시키기 위하여 Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) 전도성 고분자 코팅 용액 조성을 결정하였다. 1000 S/cm의 고 전도성을 보이는 PEDOT:PSS 용액에 끓는점이 각기 다른 4가지 종류의 용매를 희석하였고, 코팅 전 후 면저항 변화를 분석하였다. 또한 380~800 nm 영역의 광 투과율 분 석 및 Raman 스펙트럼 분석을 통하여 PEDOT:PSS 박막이 코팅된 ITO 투명 전극의 전기적 특성 결정 메커니즘을 규명하였 다. 230°C 열성형 공정 결과 ITO 필름은 113% 연신 상태에서 이미 전기 전도성을 읽었지만, ethylene glycol을 희석 용매로 사용하여 얻어진 전도성 고분자 박막이 적용된 ITO 필름은 126% 고 연신 상태에서도 초기 60 Ω/sq 면저항을 246 Ω/sq로 유지하는 우수한 전기 전도성을 보였다.
본 연구는 나노섬유를 제조하는데 빠르고 효과적인 전기방사법을 이용하여 PVA(Polyvinyl alcohol)와 AgNO3를 혼합하여 제조한 용액을 금속산화물 기반 나노 섬유로 이루어진 투명 전극을 제조하고 그 특성을 분석하였다. PVA/AgNO3 혼합 용액을 전기방사법을 이용하여 유리기판 위에 나노 섬유 구조체 형태로 방사하여 250 ℃에서 2 시간 동안 열처리 과정을 통해 전기 전도성이 향상된 은 나노 섬유 기반 투명 전극을 제조하였다. 제조된 투명전극은 four-point probe 장비를 이용하여 전기적 특성을 분석하였으며, UV - Vis spectrophotometer 를 이용하여 제조된 투명전극의 투과도를 확인하였다. 또한, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)과 Energy Dispersive Spectrometer(EDS)를 통해 은 나노 섬유의 표면 특성과 성분을 확인하였다. 이러한 분석들을 통해, 전기 방사 시간에 따른 면 저항과 투과도의 최적화된 조건을 확인할 수 있었으며, 은 나노 섬유로 이루어진 투명 전극은 전기적, 광학적, 기계적 특성이 우수하여 태양전지, 디스플레이, 터치스크린과 같은 차세대 유연 디스플레이에 적용 가능성을 보여주었다.
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.
Silver nanowire (AgNW) networks have been adopted as a front electrode in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin film solar cells due to their low cost and compatibility with the solution process. When an AgNW network is applied to a CIGS thin film solar cell, reflection loss can increase because the CdS layer, with a relatively high refractive index (n ~ 2.5 at 550 nm), is exposed to air. To resolve the issue, we apply solution-processed ZnO nanorods to the AgNW network as an anti-reflective coating. To obtain high performance of the optical and electrical properties of the ZnO nanorod and AgNW network composite, we optimize the process parameters – the spin coating of AgNWs and the concentration of zinc nitrate and hexamethylene tetramine (HMT – to fabricate ZnO nanorods. We verify that 10 mM of zinc nitrate and HMT show the lowest reflectance and 10% cell efficiency increase when applied to CIGS thin film solar cells.
Homogeneous multicomponent indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) ceramics for transparent electrode targets are prepared from the oxides and nitrates as the source materials, and their properties are characterized. The selected compositions were In2O3:Ga2O3:ZnO = 1:1:2, 1:1:6, and 1:1:12 in mole ratio based on oxide. As revealed by X-ray diffraction analysis, calcination of the selected oxide or nitrides at 1200oC results in the formation of InGaZnO4, InGaZn3O6, and InGaZn5O8 phases. The 1:1:2, 1:1:6, and 1:1:12 oxide samples pressed in the form of discs exhibit relative densities of 96.9, 93.2, and 84.1%, respectively, after sintering at 1450oC for 12 h. The InGaZn3O6 ceramics prepared from the oxide or nitrate batches comprise large grains and exhibit homogeneous elemental distribution. Under optimized conditions, IGZO multicomponent ceramics with controlled phases, high densities, and homogeneous microstructures (grain and elemental distribution) are obtained.
Transparent conducting electrodes are essential components in various optoelectrical devices. Although indium tin oxide thin films have been widely used for transparent conducting electrodes, silver nanowire network is a promising alternative to indium tin oxide thin films owing to its lower processing cost and greater suitability for flexible device application. In order to widen the application of silver nanowire network, the electrical conductance has to be improved while maintaining high optical transparency. In this study, we report the enhancement of the electrical conductance of silver nanowire network transparent electrodes by copper electrodeposition on the silver nanowire networks. The electrodeposited copper lowered the sheet resistance of the silver nanowire networks from 21.9 Ω/□ to 12.6 Ω/□. We perform detailed X-ray diffraction analysis revealing the effect of the amount of electrodeposited copper-shell on the sheet resistance of the core-shell(silver/copper) nanowire network transparent electrodes. From the relationship between the cross-sectional area of the copper-shell and the sheet resistance of the transparent electrodes, we deduce the electrical resistivity of electrodeposited copper to be approximately 4.5 times that of copper bulk.
Copper electroplating and electrode patterning using a screen printer are applied instead of lithography for heterostructure with intrinsic thin layer(HIT) silicon solar cells. Samples are patterned on an indium tin oxide(ITO) layer using polymer resist printing. After polymer resist patterning, a Ni seed layer is deposited by sputtering. A Cu electrode is electroplated in a Cu bath consisting of Cu2SO4 and H2SO4 at a current density of 10 mA/cm2. Copper electroplating electrodes using a screen printer are successfully implemented to a line width of about 80 μm. The contact resistance of the copper electrode is 0.89 mΩ·cm2, measured using the transmission line method(TLM), and the sheet resistance of the copper electrode and ITO are 1 Ω/□ and 40 Ω/□, respectively. In this paper, a screen printer is used to form a solar cell electrode pattern, and a copper electrode is formed by electroplating instead of using a silver electrode to fabricate an efficient solar cell electrode at low cost.
LiCl-KCl 용융염에서 광학적으로 투명한 텅스텐 망으로 제작된 작업전극에 대해 사마륨의 전기화학적 거동을 Cyclic voltammetry와 Potential step chronoabsorptometry의 전기화학적 및 분광전기화학적 방법으로 조사하였다. Cyclic voltammogram 으로 결정된 Sm3+/Sm2+의 산화환원 반응의 가역성을 기반으로 형식전위와 확산계수를 계산하여 각각 –1.99 V vs. Cl2/Cl- 와 2.53×10-6 cm2·s-1를 얻었다. 작업 전극에 –1.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl (wt%)로 전압을 인가하여 측정한 Chronoabsorptometry 를 통해 사마륨 이온의 특성 파장으로 Sm3+에 대해 408.08 nm, Sm2+에 대해 545.62 nm를 확인하였다. Voltammogram에서 얻은 환원 피크 전압과 산화 피크 전압을 이용하여 Potential step chronoabsorptometry를 수행하였다. 545.63 nm의 흡광 피크 값을 분석하여 2.15×10-6 cm2·s-1의 확산계수를 얻었으며 이 값은 동일한 온도에서 Cyclic voltammtry 분석으로 얻은 값과 큰 차이를 보이지 않았다. 실험결과로부터 고온 용융염에서 광학적으로 투명한 작업전극을 이용한 분광전기화학적 방 법이 용융염에 용해된 이온의 종류를 확인하며 전기화학적 거동을 조사하는데 유용한 도구로 활용될 수 있음을 확인하였다.
Transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) are attracting considerable attention as an important component for emerging optoelectronic applications such as liquid crystal displays, touch panels, and solar cells owing to their attractive combination of low resistivity (< 10-3 Ω cm) and high transparency (>80%) in the visible region. The solutionbased process has unique properties of an easy fabrication procedure, scalability, and low cost compared to the conventional vacuum-based process and may prove to be a useful process for fabricating TCEs for future optoelectronic applications demanding large scale and flexibility. In this paper, we focus on the introduction of a solution-based process for TCEs. In addition, we consider the powder materials used to fabricate solution-based TCEs and strategies to improve their transparent conducting properties.
One-dimensional (1D) silver nanostructures, which possess the highest conductivity among all room-temperature materials, moderate flexibility and high transmittance, are one of the most promising candidate materials to replace conventional indium tin oxide transparent electrodes. However, the short length and large diameter of 1D silver nanostructures cause a substantial decrease in the optical transparency or an increase in the sheet resistance. In this work, ultra-long silver nanofiber networks were synthesized with a low-cost and scalable electrospinning process, and the diameter of the nanofibers were finetuned to achieve a higher aspect ratio. The decrease in the diameter of the nanofibers resulted in a higher optical transparency at a lower sheet resistance: 87 % at 300 Ω/sq, respectively. It is expected that an electrospun silver nanofiber based transparent electrode can be used as a key component in various optoelectronic applications.
유기태양전지의 투명전극으로서 기존의 값비싸고 깨지기 쉬운 Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) 전극을 대체하고자, 전도성 고분자인 poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)를 적용하였다. 솔벤트의 도핑 농도에 따른 PEDOT:PSS 박막의 전기 전도도와 표면 거칠기의 특성 변화를 관찰하고, 그 결과가 PEDOT:PSS를 투명전극으로 사용한 유기태양전지의 특성에 미치는 영향을 연구하였다. PEDOT:PSS의 솔벤트 농도가 증가함에 따라, 박막의 표면 거칠기가 증가하고, 이는 유기태양전지의 단락전류의 변화를 야기했다. 또한, 소자의 홀 이동층이 얇아짐에 따라 광활성층의 단파장영역의 광흡수가 증가하는 것을 관찰할 수 있었다.
Metal nanowires can be coated on various substrates to create transparent conducting films that can potentially replace the dominant transparent conductor, indium tin oxide, in displays, solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, and electrochromic windows. One issue with these metal nanowire based transparent conductive films is that the resistance between the nanowires is still high because of their low aspect ratio. Here, we demonstrate high-performance transparent conductive films with silver nanofiber networks synthesized by a low-cost and scalable electrospinning process followed by two-step sequential thermal treatments. First, the PVP/AgNO3 precursor nanofibers, which have an average diameter of 208 nm and are several thousands of micrometers in length, were synthesized by the electrospinning process. The thermal behavior and the phase and morphology evolution in the thermal treatment processes were systematically investigated to determine the thermal treatment atmosphere and temperature. PVP/AgNO3 nanofibers were transformed stepwise into PVP/Ag and Ag nanofibers by two-step sequential thermal treatments (i.e., 150˚C in H2 for 0.5 h and 300˚C in Ar for 3 h); however, the fibrous shape was perfectly maintained. The silver nanofibers have ultrahigh aspect ratios of up to 10000 and a small average diameter of 142 nm; they also have fused crossing points with ultra-low junction resistances, which result in high transmittance at low sheet resistance.
We report on the effects of TiO2 doping power on the characteristics of multicomponent TiO2-ITO (TITO) electrodes prepared by a multi-target sputtering system with tilted cathode guns. Both as-deposited and annealed TITO electrodes showed linearly increased sheet resistance and resistivity with increasing TiO2 doping power. However, the TITO electrodes exhibited a fairly high optical transmittance regardless of the TiO2 doping power due to the high transparency of the TiO2. Although the annealed TITO showed much lower sheet resistance and resistivity relative to the as-deposited samples, the electrical properties of the annealed samples exhibited similar dependence on the TiO2 power to the as-deposited samples. In addition, it was found that doping of an anatase TiO2 in the ITO electrode prevented the preferred (222) orientation of the TITO electrodes. Although the TITO electrode showed higher sheet resistance and resistivity than that of the pure ITO electrode, it offers a very smooth surface and usage of a low-cost Ti element. It is thus considered a promising multicomponent transparent conducting electrode for cost-efficient flat panel displays and photovoltatics.
We have investigated the structural and electrical properties of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films deposited by anRF magnetron sputtering at various RF powers from 50 to 90W. All the GZO thin films are grown as a hexagonal wurtzitephase with highly c-axis preferred parameters. The structural and electrical properties are strongly related to the RF power. Thegrain size increases as the RF power increases since the columnar growth of GZO thin film is enhanced at an elevated RFpower. This result means that the crystallinity of GZO is improved as the RF power increases. The resistivity of GZO rapidlydecreases as the RF power increases up to 70W and saturates to 90W. In contrast, the electron concentration of GZO increasesas the RF power increases up to 70W and saturates to 90W. GZO thin film shows the lowest resistivity of 2.2×10−4Ωcmand the highest electron concentration of 1.7×1021cm−3 at 90W. The mobility of GZO increases as the RF power increasessince the grain boundary scattering decreases due to the reduced density of the grain boundary at a high RF power. Thetransmittance of GZO thin films in the visible range is above 90%. GZO is a feasible transparent electrode for application asa transparent electrode for thin film solar cells.
We have investigated the structural and optical properties of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films deposited by RFmagnetron sputtering at various deposition temperatures from 100 to 500oC. All the GZO thin films are grown as a hexagonalwurtzite phase with highly c-axis preferred parameter. The structural and electrical properties are strongly related to depositiontemperature. The grain size increases with the increasing deposition temperature up to 400oC and then decreases at 500oC. Thedependence of grain size on the deposition temperature results from the variation of thermal activation energy. The resistivityof GZO thin film decreases with the increasing deposition temperature up to 300oC and then decreases up to 500oC. GZO thinfilm shows the lowest resistivity of 4.3×10−4Ωcm and highest electron concentration of 1.0×1021cm−3 at 300oC. The mobilityof GZO thin films increases with the increasing deposition temperature up to 400oC and then decreases at 500oC. GZO thinfilm shows the highest resistivity of 14.1cm2/Vs. The transmittance of GZO thin films in the visible range is above 87% atall the deposition temperatures. GZO is a feasible transparent electrode for the application to the transparent electrode of thinfilm solar cells.
Transparent conductive films of single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) were prepared by spray coating method. The effect of acid treatment on the SWCNT films was investigated. The field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) shows that acid treatment can remove dispersing agent. The electrical and optical properties of acid-treated films were enhanced compared with those of as deposited SWCNT films. Nitric acid (HNO3), sulfuric acid (H2SO4), nitric acid:sulfuric acid (3:1) were used for post treatment. Although all solutions reduced sheet resistance of CNT films, nitric acid can improve electrical characteristics efficiently. During acid treatment, transmittance was increased continuously with time. But the sheet resistance was decreased for the first 20 minutes and then increased again. Post-treated SWCNT films were transparent (85%) in the visible range with sheet resistance of about 162Ω/sq. In this paper we discuss simple fabrication, which is suitable for different types of large-scale substrates and simple processes to improve properties of SWCNT films.
Changes in the surface morphology and light scattering of textured Al doped ZnO thin films on glasssubstrates prepared by rf magnetron sputtering were investigated. As-deposited ZnO:Al films show a hightransmittance of above 80% in the visible range and a low electrical resistivity of 4.5×10-4Ω·cm. The surfacemorphology of textured ZnO:Al films are closely dependent on the deposition parameters of heater temperature,working pressure, and etching time in the etching process. The optimized surface morphology with a cratershape is obtained at a heater temperature of 350oC, working pressure of 0.5 mtorr, and etching time of 45seconds. The optical properties of light transmittance, haze, and angular distribution function (ADF) aresignificantly affected by the resulting surface morphologies of textured films. The film surfaces, havinguniformly size-distributed craters, represent good light scattering properties of high haze and ADF values.Compared with commercial Asahi U (SnO2:F) substrates, the suitability of textured ZnO:Al films as frontelectrode material for amorphous silicon thin film solar cells is also estimated with respect to electrical andoptical properties.
This study investigates Bi2O3-B2O3-BaO-ZnO glass with variations of the Co3O4 content (0.25,0.5,1,and 2wt%) and the interaction between transparent dielectric and Ag electrodes heat-treated at 500-560oC for30min. The glass transition temperature, softening temperature and thermal expansion coefficient were432oC, 460oC and 81.4×10-7/oC, respectively. The transmittance of 0.25wt% Co3O4 to which dielectric wasadded was highest and was decreased due to coloration with the addition of more than 0.25wt%. However,without Co3O4, the transmittance of the transparent layer was decreased due to the formation of Ba5Bi3;however, the occurrence of the crystal phase decreased as a result of the addition of Co3O4. The amount ofCo2+ ions increased as the Co3O4 increased. With a maximum of Co3+ ions, the highest transmittance wasobserved.