Lead free (Ba0.7Ca0.3) TiO3 thick films with nano-sized grains are prepared using an aerosol deposition (AD) method at room temperature. The crystallinity of the AD thick films is enhanced by a post annealing process. Contrary to the sharp phase transition of bulk ceramics that has been reported, AD films show broad phase transition behaviors due to the nanosized grains. The polarization-electric hysteresis loop of annealed AD film shows ferroelectric behaviors. With an increase in annealing temperature, the saturation polarization increases because of an increase in crystallinity. However, the remnant polarization and cohesive field are not affected by the annealing temperature. BCT AD thick films annealed at 700 ℃/2h have an energy density of 1.84 J/cm3 and a charge-discharge efficiency of 69.9%, which is much higher than those of bulk ceramic with the same composition. The higher energy storage properties are likely due to the increase in the breakdown field from a large number of grain boundaries of nano-sized grains.

The effects of an addition of CNT on the sensing properties of nano ZnO:CNT-based gas sensors were studied for H2S gas. The nano ZnO sensing materials were grown by a hydrothermal reaction method. The nano ZnO:CNT was prepared by ball-milling method. The weight range of the CNT addition on the ZnO surface was from 0 to 10%. The nano ZnO:CNT gas sensors were fabricated by a screen-printing method on alumina substrates. The structural and morphological properties of the ZnO:CNT sensing materials were investigated by XRD, EDS, and SEM. The XRD patterns revealed that nano ZnO:CNT powders with a wurtzite structure were grown with (1 0 0), (0 0 2), and (1 0 1) dominant peaks. The size of the ZnO was about 210 nm, as confirmed by SEM images. The sensitivity of the nano ZnO:CNT-based sensors was measured for 5 ppm of H2S gas at room temperature by comparing the resistance in air with that in target gases.

The effects of a Ni coating on the sensing properties of nano ZnO:Ni based gas sensors were studied for CH4 and CH3CH2CH3 gases. Nano ZnO sensing materials were prepared by the hydrothermal reaction method. The Ni coatings on the nano ZnO surface were deposited by the hydrolysis of zinc chloride with NH4OH. The weight % of Ni coating on the ZnO surface ranged from 0 to 10 %. The nano ZnO:Ni gas sensors were fabricated by a screen printing method on alumina substrates. The structural and morphological properties of the nano ZnO : Ni sensing materials were investigated by XRD, EDS, and SEM. The XRD patterns showed that nano ZnO : Ni powders with a wurtzite structure were grown with (1 0 0), (0 0 2), and (1 0 1) dominant peaks. The particle size of nano ZnO powders was about 250 nm. The sensitivity of nano ZnO:Ni based sensors for 5 ppm CH4 gas and CH3CH2CH3 gas was measured at room temperature by comparing the resistance in air with that in target gases. The highest sensitivity of the ZnO:Ni sensor to CH4 gas and CH3CH2CH3 gas was observed at Ni 4 wt%. The response and recovery times of 4 wt% Ni coated ZnO:Ni gas sensors were 14 s and 15 s, respectively.

We fabricated thermally evaporated 30 nm-Ni/(20 nm or 60 nm)a-Si:H/Si films to investigate the energy-saving property of silicides formed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at temperatures of 350˚C, 450˚C, 550˚C, and 600˚C for 40 seconds. A transmission electron microscope (TEM) and a high resolution X-ray diffractometer (HRXRD) were used to determine the cross-sectional microstructure and phase changes. A UVVIS-NIR and FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) were employed for near-IR and middle-IR absorbance. Through TEM and HRXRD analysis, for the nickel silicide formed at low temperatures below 450˚C, we confirmed columnar-shaped structures with thicknesses of 20~30 nm that had δ-Ni2Si phases. Regarding the nickel silicide formed at high temperatures above 550˚C, we confirmed that the nickel silicide had more than 50 nm-thick columnar-shaped structures with a Ni31Si12 phase. Through UV-VIS-NIR analysis, nickel silicide showed almost the same absorbance in the near IR region as well as ITO. However, in the middle IR region, the nickel silicides with low temperature showed similar absorbance to those from high temperature silicidation.

We fabricated 10 nm-TiO2 thin films for DSSC (dye sensitized solar cell) electrode application using ALD (atomic layer deposition) method at the low temperatures of 150˚ and 250˚. We characterized the crosssectional microstructure, phase, chemical binding energy, and absorption of the TiO2 using TEM, HRXRD, XPS, and UV-VIS-NIR, respectively. TEM analysis showed a 10 nm-thick flat and uniform TiO2 thin film regardless of the deposition temperatures. Through XPS analysis, it was found that the stoichiometric TiO2 phase was formed and confirmed by measuring main characteristic peaks of Ti 2p1, Ti 2p3, and O 1s indicating the binding energy status. Through UV-VIS-NIR analysis, ALD-TiO2 thin films were found to have a band gap of 3.4 eV resulting in the absorption edges at 360 nm, while the conventional TiO2 films had a band gap of 3.0 eV (rutile)~3.2 eV (anatase) with the absorption edges at 380 nm and 410 nm. Our results implied that the newly proposed nano-thick TiO2 film using an ALD process at 150˚ had almost the same properties as thsose of film at 250˚. Therefore, we confirmed that the ALD-processed TiO2 thin film with nano-thickness formed at low temperatures might be suitable for the electrode process of flexible devices.

Thermally evaporated 10 nm-Ni/1 nm-Au/(30 nm-poly)Si structures were fabricated in order to investigate the thermal stability of Au-inserted nickel silicide. The silicide samples underwent rapid thermal annealing at 300~1100˚C for 40 seconds. The sheet resistance was measured using a four-point probe. A scanning electron microscope and a transmission electron microscope were used to determine the cross-sectional structure and surface image. High-resolution X-ray diffraction and a scanning probe microscope were employed for the phase and surface roughness. According to sheet resistance and XRD analyses, nickel silicide with Au had no effect on widening the NiSi stabilization temperature region. Au-inserted nickel silicide on a single crystal silicon substrate showed nano-dots due to the preferred growth and a self-arranged agglomerate nano phase due to agglomeration. It was possible to tune the characteristic size of the agglomerate phase with silicidation temperatures. The nano-thick Au-insertion was shown to lead to self-arranged microstructures of nickel silicide.