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.

Evaluations of the microstructure and mechanical properties of age hardenable Cu-2.0wt%Be alloy are performed in order to determine whether it can be used as a welding electrode for projection welding. The microstructure examinations, hardness measurements, and tensile tests of selective aging conditions are conducted. The results indicate that the aging treatment with the fine-grained microstructure exhibits better hardness and high tensile properties than those of the coarsegrained microstructure. The highest hardness value and high tensile strength are obtained from the aged condition of 300 oC for 360 min due to the presence of the metastable γ. precipitates on the grain boundaries. The values of the highest hardness and tensile strength are measured as 374 Hv and 1236.2 MPa, respectively. The metastable γ. precipitates are transferred to the equilibrium γ precipitates due to the over-aged treatment. The presence of the γ precipitates appears as nodule-like precipitates decorated around the grain boundaries. The welding electrode with the best aging treated condition exhibits better welding performance for electrodes than those of electrodes used previously.

Nanostructured Cu-AlO composite powders were synthesized by thermochemical process. The synthesis procedures are 1) preparation of precursor powder by spray drying of solution made from water-soluble copper and aluminum nitrates, 2) air heat treatments to evaporate volatile components in the precursor powder and synthesis of nano-structured CuO + O, and 3) CuO reduction by hydrogen into pure Cu. The suggested procedures stimulated the formation of the gamma-AlO, and different alumina formation behaviors appeared with various heat treating temperatures. The mean particle size of the final Cu/AlO composite powders produced was 20 nm, and the electrical conductivity and hardness in the hot-extruded bulk were competitive with Cu/AlO composite by the conventional internal oxidation process