There is an increasing demand for freeform stretchable display technologies capable of overcoming spatial limitations in next-generation platforms such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). To realize such stretchable displays, all constituent materials—including semiconductors, electrodes, insulators, and substrates—must exhibit sufficient mechanical elasticity. To date, stretchable gate insulators have primarily relied on organic polymers such as poly(4-vinylphenol-co-methyl methacrylate) (PVP-co-PMMA). However, their practical application is significantly limited by poor electrical properties, including low dielectric constant and instability. In this work, we propose a novel gate insulator structure that minimizes the use of solution-based processes, which often suffer from poor uniformity and may damage underlying layers during fabrication. The proposed structure integrates the advantages of both organic and inorganic materials by employing a hybrid configuration. Specifically, high-k HfO₂ thin films are deposited on both the top and bottom of an organic layer composed of PVP-co-PMMA, poly(melamine-co-formaldehyde) (PMF) as a crosslinking agent, and propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PGMEA) as a solvent. This inorganic–organic–inorganic structure effectively compensates for the inherent electrical limitations of organic materials. As a result, the fabricated thin-film transistors (TFTs) exhibit improved electrical performance and reliability compared to devices employing a single organic gate insulator.

This study investigates the effect of mask material and thickness on the silicon etching profile using a high-density plasma (HDP) etching system, aiming to reduce optical loss in silicon-based optical waveguides. As the mask thickness increased, the etching sidewall angle became steeper. An etching profile angle of 87° was obtained when tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was used as the mask material, while 80° was obtained for photoresist (PR). This is attributed to electron charging on the mask surface in the plasma. The charged mask modifies the distribution and strength of the electric field depending on its thickness, thereby affecting the trajectory of positive ions accelerated toward the substrate by the bias voltage. Furthermore, Plasma diagnostics using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and surface composition analysis using field emission Auger electron spectroscopy (FE-AES) revealed that changes in the mask material also alter the reaction pathways and formation characteristics of active species and silicon by-products in the plasma. These results suggest that the mask material influences the overall plasma characteristics, including electron density and ion energy, and plays a critical role in the precise control of silicon etching profiles for high-performance optical device fabrication.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is a promising 2D semiconductor material for low-power electronics due to its excellent electrical properties and compatibility with conventional processes. In this study, MoS₂ thin films deposited by RF sputtering were etched using Cl₂/Ar plasma in an ICP system. The effects of Cl₂ gas ratio, RF power, and process pressure on etch rate and MoS₂/SiO₂ selectivity were investigated. Optimal results were obtained at 25% Cl₂, achieving ~38 nm/min etch rate and selectivity of 3.0. Increased source power improved both etch rate and selectivity, while higher bias power enhanced etching but reduced selectivity due to stronger ion bombardment. XPS analysis confirmed Mo－Cl and S－Cl bond formation after etching, indicating chemical reactions and some by-product residue. These results provide insights into optimized plasma etching of sputtered MoS₂ films for advanced 2D device fabrication

This study proposes an innovative methodology for developing flexible printed circuit boards (FPCBs) capable of conforming to three-dimensional shapes, meeting the increasing demand for electronic circuits in diverse and complex product designs. By integrating a traditional flat plate-based fabrication process with a subsequent three-dimensional thermal deformation technique, we have successfully demonstrated an FPCB that maintains stable electrical characteristics despite significant shape deformations. Using a modified polyimide substrate along with Ag flake-based conductive ink, we identified optimized process variables that enable substrate thermal deformation at lower temperatures (~130℃) and enhance the stretchability of the conductive ink (ε ~30%). The application of this novel FPCB in a prototype 3D-shaped sensor device, incorporating photosensors and temperature sensors, illustrates its potential for creating multifunctional, shape-adaptable electronic devices. The sensor can detect external light sources and measure ambient temperature, demonstrating stable operation even after transitioning from a planar to a three-dimensional configuration. This research lays the foundation for next-generation FPCBs that can be seamlessly integrated into various products, ushering in a new era of electronic device design and functionality.

This work focuses on improving the light-harvesting efficiency of thin-film silicon solar cells through innovative multi-architecture surface modifications. To create a regular optical structure, a lithographic process was performed to form it on a glass substrate through various etching processes, from Etch-1 to Etch-3. AZO was deposited on top of the structures and re-etched to create a multi-architectural surface. These surface-modified structures improved the light absorption and overall performance of the solar cell through changes in optical and physical properties, which we will analyze. In addition, we investigated the effect of post-cleaning on the etched glass structures through EDX analysis to understand the mechanism of the etching action. The results of this study are expected to provide important guidelines for the design and fabrication of solar cells and other photovoltaic devices.

Intrinsically stretchable light-emitting diodes, composed of stretchable electrodes, charge transport layers, and luminescent materials, have garnered significant interest for enhancing human well-being and advancing the field of deformable electronics. Various luminescent materials, such as perovskites and organics, have been integrated with stretchable elastomers to function as the stretchable emissive layers in these intrinsically stretchable LEDs. Stretchable conductors including Ag nanowire based percolating structures and conducting polymers have been utilized as stretchable transparent electrode. Despite this progress, their performances in terms of efficiency and stability remain challenging compared to their structurally stretchable and rigid LED counterparts. This review offers a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in intrinsically stretchable LEDs, focusing on material innovations.

Stretchable piezoelectric energy harvester (S-PEHs) based on composite materials are considered one of the potential candidates for realizing wearable self-powered devices for smart clothing and electronic skin. However, low energy conversion performance and expensive stretchable electrodes are major bottlenecks hindering the development and application of S-PEHs. Here, we fabricated the S-PEH by adopting the piezoelectric composites with enhanced stress transfer properties and kirigamipatterned textile electrodes. The optimum contents of piezoelectric BaTiO₃ nanoparticles inside the carbon nanotube/ecoflex composite were selected as 30 wt% considering the trade-off between stretchability and energy harvesting performance of the device. The final S-PEH shows an output voltage and mechanical stability of ~5 V and ~3,000 cycles under repeated 150% of tensile strain, respectively. This work presents a cost-effective and scalable way to fabricate stretchable piezoelectric devices for self-powered wearable electronic systems.

Flexible fiber- or yarn-based one-dimensional (1-D) energy storage devices are essential for developing wearable electronics and have thus attracted considerable attention in various fields including ubiquitous healthcare (U-healthcare) systems and textile platforms. 1-D supercapacitors (SCs), in particular, are recognized as one of the most promising candidates to power wearable electronics due to their unique energy storage and high adaptability for the human body. They can be woven into textiles or effectively designed into diverse architectures for practical use in day-to-day life. This review summarizes recent important development and advances in fiber-based supercapacitors, concerning the active materials, fiber configuration, and applications. Active materials intended to enhance energy storage capability including carbon nanomaterials, metal oxides, and conductive polymers, are first discussed. With their loading methods for fiber electrodes, a summary of the four main types of fiber SCs (e.g., coil, supercoil, buckle, and hybrid structures) is then provided, followed by demonstrations of some practical applications including wearability and power supplies. Finally, the current challenges and perspectives in this field are made for future works.

Currently, semiconductor manufacturing industry heavily relies on a wide range of high global warming potential (GWP) gases, particularly during etching and cleaning processes, and their use and relevant carbon emissions are subject to global rules and regulations for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. To replace high GWP gases in near future, dry etching using alternative low GWP gases is thus being under intense investigations. In this review, we report a current status and recent progress of the relevant research activities on dry etching processes using a low GWP gas. First, we review the concept of GWP itself and then introduce the difference between high and low GWP gases. Although most of the studies have concentrated on potentially replaceable additive gases such as C₄F₈, an ultimate solution with a lower GWP for main etching gases including CF₄ should be developed; therefore, we provide our own perspective in this regard. Finally, we summarize the advanced dry etch process research with low GWP gases and list up several issues to be considered in future research.

Single crystal gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃) has been an emerging material for power semiconductor applications. However, the defect distribution of Ga₂O₃ substrates needs to be carefully characterized to improve crystal quality during crystal growth. We analyzed the type and the distribution of defects on commercial (-201) Ga₂O₃ substrates to get a basic standard prior to growing Ga₂O₃ crystals. Etch pit technique was employed to expose the type of defects on the Ga₂O₃ substrates. Synchrotron white beam X-ray topography was also utilized to observe the defect distribution by a nondestructive manner. We expect that the observation of defect distribution with three-dimensional geometry will also be useful for other crystal planes of Ga₂O₃ single crystals.

Inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) of copper thin films patterned with SiO₂ hard masks was carried out using piperidine/O₂/Ar gas mixture. The etch rate, etch selectivity, and etch profile of copper thin films were investigated by varying gas concentration in piperidine/O₂/Ar gas mixture. In addition, the etch parameters including ICP RF power, DC-bias voltage to substrate, and process pressure were varied to examine the etch characteristics. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and optical emission spectroscopy were employed to elucidate the etch mechanism under piperidine/O₂/Ar gas chemistry. Finally, 150 nm-line patterned copper thin films were successfully etched using piperidine/ O₂/Ar etch gas under the optimized etch conditions.

Randomly patterned and wet chemical etching processes were used to treat anti-glare of display cover glasses. The surface and optical properties of grain size and surface morphology controlled by randomly patterned etching and wet chemical solution etching were investigated. The surface morphology and roughness of the etched samples were examined using a spectrophotometer and a portable surface roughness (Ra) measuring instrument, respectively. The gloss caused by reflection from the glass surface was measured at 60° using a gloss meter. The surface of the sample etched by the doctor-blade process was more uniform than that obtained from a screen pattern etching process at gel state etching process of the first step. The surface roughness obtained from the randomly patterned etching process depended greatly on the mesh size, which in turn affected the grain size and pattern formation. The surface morphology and gloss obtained by the etching process in the second step depended primarily on the mesh size of the gel state etching process of the first step. In our experimental range, the gloss increased on decreasing the grain size at a lower mesh size for the first step process and for longer reaction times for the second step process.

The proposed stretchable transparent electrodes based on silver nanowires (AgNWs) were prepared on a polyurethane (PU) substrate. In order toavoid the surface roughness caused by the silver nanowires, a titanium oxide (TiO₂) buffer layer was addedby coating and heating the organometallic sol-gel solution. The fabricated stretchable electrodes showedan electrical sheet resistance of 24 Ωsq^-1, 78% transmittance at 550 nm, and an average surface roughness below 5 nm. Furthermore, the AgNW-based electrode maintained its initial electrical resistance under 130% strain testing conditions, without the assistance of additional conductive polymer layers. In this paper, the critical role of the TiO₂ buffer layer between the AgNW network and the PU substrate has been discussed.

In this study, effects of ICP (inductively coupled plasma) treatment on PAR thin film have been investigated. A maximum etch rate of the PAR thin films and the selectivity of PAR to PR were obtained as 110 nm/minand 1.1 in the CF₄/O₂ (5:15 sccm) gas mixture. We present the surface properties of PAR thin film with various treatment conditions. The surface morphology and cross section of the PAR thin film was observed by AFM (atomic force microscopy) and FE-SEM (filed emission scanning electron microscopy).

ITO/Ag/ITO conductive films on PET (polyethylene terephthalate) was etched by a Q-switched diode-pumped neodymiun-doped yttrium vanadate (Nd:YVO4, λ = 1064 ㎚) laser. During the laser direct etching, the laser beam was incident on the two different directions of PET and the etching patterns were investigated and analyzed. At a lower repetition rate of laser pulse, the larger laser etched patterns were obtained by laser beam incident on reverse side of PET substrate. On the contrary, at a higher repetition rate, it was possible to find the larger etched patterns in case of the laser beam incidence on forward side of PET substrate. For the laser beam incidence on reverse side, the laser beam is expected to be transferred and scattered through the PET substrate and the laser beam energy is thought to be dependent on the etch laser pulse beam energy.

Single-layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit more interesting physical properties than those of bulk TMDs owing to the indirect to direct bandgap transition occurring due to quantum confinement. In this research, we demonstrate that layer-by-layer laser etching of molybdenum diselenide (MoSe₂) flakes could be controlled by varying the parameters employed in laser irradiation (time, intensity, interval, etc.). We observed a dramatic increase in the photoluminescence (PL) intensity (1.54 eV peak) after etching the samples, indicating that the removal of several layers of (MoSe₂) led to a change from indirect to direct bandgap. The laser-etched (MoSe₂) exhibited the single (MoSe₂) Raman vibration modes at ~239.4 cm^-1 and ~295 cm^-1, associated to out-of-plane A_1g and in-plane E¹ _2g Raman modes, respectively. These results indicate that controlling the number of MoSe2 layers by laser etching method could be employed for optimizing the performance of nano-electronic devices.

A textured front surface is required in high efficiency silicon solar cells to reduce reflectance and to improve light trapping. Wet etching with alkaline solution is usually applied for mono crystalline silicon solar cells. However, alkali texturing method is not appropriate for multi-crystalline silicon wafers due to grain boundary of random crystallographic orientation. Accordingly, acid texturing method is generally used for multi-crystalline silicon wafers to reduce the surface reflectance. To reduce reflectivity of multi-crystalline silicon wafers, double texturing method with combination of acid and reactive ion etching is an attractive technical solution. In this paper, we have studied to optimize RIE condition by different RF power condition (100, 150, 200, 250, 300 W).

In this paper, we report that selective etching on N-polar face by EC (electro-chemical)-etching effect on the reduction of bowing and strain of FS (free-standing)-GaN substrates. We applied the EC-etching to concave and convex type of FS-GaN substrates. After the EC-etching for FS-GaN, nano porous structure was formed on N-polar face of concave and convex type of FS-GaN. Consequently, the bowing in the convex type of FS-GaN substrate was decreased but the bowing in the concave type of FS-GaN substrate was increased. Furthermore, the FWHM (full width at half maximum) of (1 0 2) reflection for the convex type of FS-GaN was significantly decreased from 601 to 259 arcsec. In the case, we confirmed that the EC-etching method was very effective to reduce the bowing in the convex type of FS-GaN and the compressive stress in N-polar face of convex type of FS-GaN was fully released by Raman measurement.

We investigated and compared two methods of in-situ oxidation and chemical etching treatment (CET) to remove the boron rich layer (BRL). The BRL is generally formed during boron doping process. It has to be controlled in order not to degrade carrier lifetime and reduce electrical properties. A boron emitter is formed using BBr3 liquid source at 930℃. After that, in-situ oxidation was followed by injecting oxygen of 1,000 sccm into the furnace during ramp down step and compared with CET using a mixture of acid solution for a short time. Then, we analyzed passivation effect by depositing Al2O3. The results gave a carrier lifetime of 110.9 ㎲, an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 635 mV at in-situ oxidation and a carrier lifetime of 188.5 ㎲, an Voc of 650 mV at CET. As a result, CET shows better properties than in-situ oxidation because of removing BRL uniformly.

To provide the clear images from the direct light on electrical board and display devices, anti glare treatment of display cover glass is needed. In this study, the effects of surface treatment temperature, concentration, and etching solution coating thickness of the gel phase on optical elements control such as gloss, haze of reflected light and transmittance, were investigated. Cover glasses were treated at different coating thickness and additive concentration. The optical properties were examined using spectrophotometer, gloss and haze meter. The surface morphology and roughness were measured by the optical microscope and Ra measuring instrument. The etching rate and surface morphologies were dramatically affected by the concentration of acid additive in the viscous gel because of re-crystallization of components in the etching solution, hydrogel formation and coagulant after coating on glass substrate. In our experimental range, cover glass which is surface-treated with various optical properties as well as the morphology uniformity was obtained; in particular, optical properties could be controlled by etching solution coating thickness of the gel phase and the concentration of additive. The gloss was depended on the surface roughness and it showed the linear relationship between optical transmittance and haze of reflected light, respectively.

WO3, SiO2, and TiO2 films with hydrophilic property are deposited by rf-magnetron sputtering. Their wettability is strongly depends on the presence or absence of the oxygen plasma etching on the glass substrates. The TiO2 film of 50 nm-thick on the plasma etched glass shows a water contact angle (WCA) below 5o which means a super-hydrophilic surface. However, WCA values are gradually degraded when the films are exposed under atmosphere, especially WO3. In order to improve hydrophilic property, the degraded films can be again recovered by UV illumination for 10 sec using UV-light and the TiO2 film shows a super-hydrophilic surface about 3o.

Anodic aluminum oxides (AAO) fabricated by the two-step anodizing process have attracted much attention for the fabrication of nano template because of pore structure with high aspect ratio, low cost process and ease of fabrication. AAOs are characterized by a homogeneous morphology of parallelpores that grow perpendicular to the template surface with a narrow distribution of diameter, length and inter-pores spacing, all of which can be easily controlled by suitably choosing of the anodizingparameters such as pH of the electrolyte, anodizing voltage and duration of anodizing. In this study, AAOtemplates were characterized by X-ray diffraction and field-emission scanning electron microscope(FE-SEM). The dependence of the pore size change according to the amount of addition of phosphoric acid, which was used to remove the initial alumina oxide layer, was not observed.

As a method of simple patterning of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films deposited on flexible substrates, laser direct etching was carried out on TCO films sputtered on polycarbonate (PC) substrates. As a result of different binding energies in TCO films, indium tin oxide (ITO) and indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) were more easily etched than zinc oxide with different Nd: YVO4 laser beam conditions.

Zinc oxide(ZnO) was sputtered on various glass and flexible substrates such as polyethylene terephthalate(PET) and polycarbonate(PC). A Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser with a wavelength of 1,064 nm was used for the direct etching of ZnO films. It was possible to obtain laser etched line patterns on the ZnO films on PC substrate at some specific laser beam conditions. In the flexible substrates, more thermal energy of laser beam is expected to be spreaded for the etching process.

In this paper, we carried out the investigations of both etch characteristics and mechanisms for the SnO2 thin films in O2/BCl3/Ar plasma. The dry etching characteristics of the SnO2 thin films was studied by varying the O2/BCl3/Ar gas mixing ratio. We determined the optimized process conditions that were as follows: a RF power of 700 W, a DC-bias voltage of -150 V, and a process pressure of 2 Pa. The maximum etch rate was 509.9 nm/min in O2/BCl3/Ar=(3:4:16 sccm) plasma. From XPS analysis, the etch mechanism of the SnO2 thin films in the O2/BCl3/Ar plasma can be identified as the ion-assisted chemical reaction while the role of ion bombardment includes the destruction of the metal-oxide bonds as well as the cleaning of the etched surface form the reaction products.

Al:ZnO thin films were deposited using the radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique at various temperatures and sputtering powers. With the increase in the deposition temperature and the decrease in the radio frequency sputtering power, the crystallinity was increased and the surface roughness was decreased, which lead to the decrease in the electrical resistivity of the film. It is also clearly observed that, the intensity of the (002) XRD peak increases with increasing the substrate temperature [1, 2]. The electrical resistivity and optical transmittance of the Al:ZnO thin film were analyzed as a function of the post-annealing temperature. It can be seen that with the annealing temperature set at 400℃, the resistivity decreases to a minimum value of 4.1×10-3 Ωcm and the transmittance increases to a maximum value of 85% of the Al:ZnO thin film.

We investigated the effect of etching time on the surface roughness, and electrical and optical properties of ZnO and 2 wt% Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films. The ZnO and AZO films were deposited on glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technique. The etching experiment was carried out using a solution of 5% HCl at room temperature. The surface roughness was characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy. The electrical property was measured by Hall measurement system and 4-point probe. The optical property was characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy. After the wet chemical etching, the surface textures were obtained on the surface of the ZnO and AZO films. With the increase of etching time, the surface roughness (RMS) of the films increased and the transmittance of the films was observed to decrease. For the AZO film, a low resistivity of 1.0×10-3 Ω·cm was achieved even after the etching.

Lowering surface reflectance of silicon wafer by texturization is one of the most important processes to improve the efficiency of silicon solar cells. Generally, the texturing of crystalline silicon was carried out using alkaline solution. The average reflectance of this method was 11% at the wavelength between 400 and 1,000 nm. In this study. the wafers were first texturing by NaOH solution at 80℃ for 35 min. Then the wafers were texturing by SF_6 and O_2 plasma in RIE (Reactive Ion Etching). The average reflectance of two step texturing was reduced to below 5% at the wavelength between 400 and 1,000 nm.

In this paper, we investigated the etching characteristics of the TaN thin films and the surface reaction of TaN thin films after etching process. The etching characteristics of the TaN thin films were carried out using inductively coupled plasma (ICP). The etch rate and the selectivity of TaN to SiO2 and TaN to PR were measured by varying the gas mixing ratio, RF power, DC-bias voltage, and process pressure in CF-based plasma. The surface reaction of TaN thin films were determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

We investigated the dry etching characteristics of TiN in TiN/A12O3: gate stack using a inductively coupled plasma system. TiN thin film is etched by BCI3/He plasma. The etching parameters are the gas mixing ratio, the RF power, the DC-bias voltages and process pressures. The highest etch rate is in BClilHe (25%:75%) plasma. The selectivity of TIN thin film to Al2O3 is pretty similar with BCI3/He plasma, The chemical reactions of the etched TiN thin films arc investigated by X - ray photoelectron spectroscopy, The intensities of the Ti 2p and the N is peaks are modified by BCl3: plasma, Intensity and binding energy of Ti and N could be changed due to a chemical reaction on the surface of TiN thin films. Also we investigated that the non volatile byproducts such as TiClx formed by chemical reaction with CI radicals on the surface of TiN thin films.