We demonstrated a crack-free α-Ga₂O₃ on sapphire substrate by horizontal halide vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). Oxygen-and gallium chloride-synthesized Ga metal and HCl were used as the precursors, and N₂ was used as the carrier gas. The HCl flow and growth temperature were controlled in the ranges of 10~30 sccm and 450~490℃, respectively. The surface of α-Ga₂O₃ template grown at 470℃ was flat and the root-mean-square (RMS) roughness was ~2 nm. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) values for the symmetric-plane diffractions, were as small as 50 arcsec and those for the asymmetric-plane diffractions were as high as 1,800 arcsec. The crystal quality of α-Ga₂O₃ on sapphire can be controlled by varying the HCl flow rate and growth temperature.

Silicon carbide is widely used in power semiconductor devices owing to its high energy gap. In particular, Schottky barrier diode (SBD) and PiN diodes fabricated on 4H-SiC wafers are being applied to various fields such as power devices. The characteristics of SBD and PiN diodes can be extracted from C-V and I-V characteristics. The measured Schottky barrier height (SBH) was 1.23 eV in the temperature range of 298~473 K, and the average ideal factor is 1.17. The results show that the device with the Schottky contact is characterized by the theory of thermal emission. As the temperature increases, the parameters are changed and the Vth is shifted to lower voltages.

1,200 V class junction barrier schottky (JBS) diodes and schottky barrier diodes (SBD) were simultaneously fabricated on the same 4H-SiC wafer. The resulting diodes were characterized at temperatures from room temperature to 473 K and subsequently compared in terms of their respective I-V characteristics. The parameters deduced from the observed I-V measurements, including ideality factor and series resistance, indicate that, as the temperature increases, the threshold voltage decreases whereas the ideality factor and barrier height increase. As JBS diodes have both Schottky and PN junction structures, the proper depletion layer thickness, R_on, and electron mobility values must be determined in order to produce diodes with an effective barrier height. The comparison results showed that the JBS diodes exhibit a larger effective barrier height compared to the SBDs.

The effects of off-state bias stress on the characteristics of p-type poly-Si TFT were investigated. To reduce the gate-induced drain leakage (GIDL) current, the off-state bias stress was changed by varying Vgs and Vds. After application of the off-state bias stress, the Vgs causing GIDL current was dramatically increased from 1 to 10 V, and thus, the Vgs margin to turn off the TFT was improved. The on-current and subthreshold swing in the aged TFT was maintained. We performed a technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulation to describe the aged characteristics. The aged-transfer characteristics were well described by the local charge trapping. The activation energy of the GIDL current was measured for the pristine and aged characteristics. The reduced GIDL current was mainly a thermionic field-emission current.

For the investigation of dopant profiles in implanted Si_1-xGe_x, the implanted B and As profiles are measured using SIMS (secondary ion mass spectrometry). The fundamental ion-solid interactions of implantation in Si_1-xGe_x are discussed and explained using SRIM, UT-marlowe, and T-dyn programs. The annealed simulation profiles are also analyzed and compared with experimental data. In comparison with the SIMS data, the boron simulation results show 8% deviations of R_p and 1.8% deviations of ΔR_p owing to relatively small lattice strain and relaxation on the sample surface. In comparison with the SIMS data, the simulation results show 4.7% deviations of R_p and 8.1% deviations of ΔR_p in the arsenic implanted Si_0.2Ge_0.8 layer and 8.5% deviations of R_p and 38% deviations of ΔR_p in the Si_0.5Ge_0.5 layer. An analytical method for obtaining the dopant profile is proposed and also compared with experimental and simulation data herein. For the high-speed CMOSFET (complementary metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) and HBT (heterojunction bipolar transistor), the study of dopant profiles in the Si_1-xGe_x layer becomes more important for accurate device scaling and fabrication technologies.

An epitaxial GaN layer was grown on a cone-shape-patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) (Sample A) and an AlN-buffered PSS (Sample B) with two growth steps under the same process conditions by employing the hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) method. We have investigated the characteristics of the GaN layer grown on two kinds of substrates at each growth step. The cross-sectional SEM image of the GaN layer grown on the two types of substrates showed growth states of GaN layers formed during the 1st and 2nd growth steps with different growth durations. Dislocation density was obtained by calculation using the FWHM value of the rocking curve for (002) and (102). Sample A showed 2.62+08E and 6.66+08E and sample B exhibited 5.74+07E and 1.65+08E for two different planes. The red shift was observed is photoluminescence (PL) analysis and Raman spectroscopy results. GaN layers grown on AlN-buffered PSS exhibited better optical and crystallographic properties than GaN layers grown on PSS.

In this paper, the ZnS nanoparticles were synthesized according to the process conditions of hydrothermal synthesis. When the molar ratio of Zn to S was 1:1.2, it was confirmed that it had a cubic single phase and a high crystal phase. After the molar ratio is fixed, hydrothermal synthesis was conducted at 180℃ for 24, 36, 72 and 96 h in order to confirm the structural change with the change of hydrothermal synthesis times. As the hydrothermal synthesis times increased, the particle size increased. The hydrothermal synthesized particle size for 72 h was considered to be suitable for sintering. The ZnS ceramic had a density of 99.7% and an excellent transmittance of ~70% in the long-wavelength region.

The following conclusions were obtained after analyzing the data transmission characteristics using two frequencies and studying a system that selects data with a good reception frequency as a priority data. Data transmission and reception using two frequencies were measured at -41 to -51 dBm when the frequency was normal, and data transmitted at 900 MHz was selected as priority data. When priority frequency failure occurred, the frequency reception data of the next rank was automatically adopted, and when the frequency of the next rank was disturbed, the priority frequency search was performed again. The above results show that the use of two frequencies enables more stable data transmission and transmission, and further studies should be continued to expand the transmission and reception distances.

In this study, double layer KTN/STO thin films were fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrate, their structural and electrical properties were measured according with the number of STO coatings, and their applicability to microwave materials was investigated. The average grain size was about 80~90 nm, the average thickness of the 6-coated KTN thin film was about 320 nm, and the average thickness of the STO thin film coated once was about 45~50 nm. The dielectric constant decreased with increasing frequency, and as the number of STO coatings increased, the rate of change of the dielectric constant with the applied electric field decreased. The tunability of the KTN thin film showed a maximum value of 19.8% at 3 V. The figure of merit of the KTN/1STO thin film was 9.8 at 3 V.

We fabricated highly flexible Mn-doped SnO2 (MTO)/Ag/MTO/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/MTO multilayer transparent conducting films. To reduce refractive-index mismatching of the MTO/Ag/MTO/polyethylene terephthalate (PET), index-matching layers were inserted between the oxide-metal-oxide-structured films and the PET substrate. The PDMS layer was deposited by spin-coating after adjusting the mixing ratio of PDMS and hexane. We investigated the effects of the index-matching layer on the color and reflectance differences with different PDMS dilution ratios. As the dilution ratio increased from 1:100 to 1:130, the color difference increased slightly, while the reflectance difference decreased from 0.62 to 0.32. The MTO/Ag/MTO/PDMS/MTO film showed a transmittance of 87.18~87.68% at 550 nm. The highest value of the Haacke figure of merit was 47.54×10^-3 Ω^-1 for the dilution ratio of 1:130.

Most series arcs lead to electrical fires that cannot be interrupted by circuit breakers, because the arc’s current is outside the breaker’s operating range. In this paper, experiments were conducted on the detection and identification of series arcs to prevent electrical fires. Plugs and outlets specified in KS C 8305 were deteriorated to replicate arc faults commonly found in fields. The characteristics of series arcs resulting from various types of loose connections were determined by analyzing the frequency spectra and phase distributions of detected arc pulses. The results showed that the simulated arc defects used in this study were more similar to actual arc phenomena than the existing arc generator specified in UL 1699. In addition, loose connections, such as wire-wire, terminal-wire, and outlet-plug, can be identified by phases of 0°, 180° and 360°, respectively. These phases can be detected by a band pass filter with a frequency range of 5~10 MHz, which can be used as the trip signal for circuit breakers.

TiO₂ has excellent photocatalytic properties and several studies have reported the increase in its specific surface area. The structure of TiO₂ nanofibers indicates promising improved photocatalytic properties and these nanofibers can thus potentially be applied in air pollution sensors and pollutant removal filters. In this study, a TiO₂ nanofiber was fabricated by the electrospinning method. The fabrication processing factors such as the applied voltage, the distance between nozzle and collector, and the inflow rate of solution were controlled. The precursor was titanium (Ⅳ) isopropoxide and as-spun TiO₂ nanofibers were heated at 450℃ for 2 h to obtain an anatase crystalline structure. The microstructure was analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The anatase phase was observed in the TiO₂ nanofibers after heat treatment. The diameter of TiO₂ nanofibers increased with the flow rate, but decreased with decreasing applied voltage and nozzle to collector distance. The diameter of TiO₂ nanofibers was controlled in the range of 364 nm to 660 nm. These nanofibers are expected to be very useful in photocatalytic applications.

The lithium-ion battery pack of an electric vehicle (EV) deserves to be considered for an alternative use within smart-grid infrastructure. Despite the long automotive service life, EV batteries retain over 70~80% of their initial capacity. These battery packs must be managed for their reliability and safety. Therefore, a battery management system (BMS) should use specific algorithms to measure and estimate the status of the battery. Most importantly, the BMS of a grid-connected energy storage system (ESS) must ensure that the lithium-ion battery does not catch fire or explode due to an internal short from uncontrolled dendrite growth. In other words, the BMS of a lithium-ion battery pack should be capable of detecting the battery’s status based on the electrochemical reaction continuously until the end of the battery’s lifespan. In this paper, we propose a new protection algorithm for a dendritic lithium battery. The proposed algorithm has applied a parameter from battery pack aging results and has control power managing.

High-capacity secondary batteries can cause explosion hazards owing to microcurrent variations or current surges that occur in short circuits. Consequently, complete safety cannot be achieved with general protection that is limited to a mere current fuse. Hence, in the case of secondary batteries, it is necessary for the protector to limit the inrush current in a short circuit, and to detect the current during microcurrent variations. To serve this purpose, a fuse can be employed for the secondary battery protection circuit with current detection. This study aims at designing a protection device that can stably operate in the hazardous circumstances associated with high-capacity secondary batteries. To achieve the said
objective
, a detecting fuse was designed from an alloy of low melting point elements for securing stability in abnormal current states. Experimental results show that the operating I-T and V-T characteristic constraints can be satisfied by employing the proposed current detecting self-contained low melting point fuse, and through the resistance of the heating resistor. These results thus verify that the proposed protection device can prevent the hazards of short circuit current surges and microcurrent variations of secondary batteries.

A total internal reflection (TIR) linear lens of size 190 (W) × 5 (D) × 2.1 (H) ㎣ has a directivity of 25° and was made of a polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) silicone resin with a refractive index of 1.4 and a transmittance of 93% at 365 nm UV wavelength. A light source with a size of 190×25.5 ㎟ was fabricated by installing a TIR linear lens on a chip on board (COB) type LED module mounted with a 1.1×1.1 ㎟ size UV LED. The optical characteristics of the light source showed a maximum irradiation density of 3,840 mW/㎠ at a working distance of 5 mm and a high uniformity of 91.6% over a 150×25 ㎟ irradiation area. The thermal characteristics of the light source were measured at a supply current of 500 mA. The saturation temperature was reached after 30 min of operation, and measured to be 95℃.