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.

The deposition of indium zinc oxide (IZO) thin films was carried out on substrate at room temperature by RF magnetron sputtering. The effects of substrate temperature, RF power and deposition pressure were investigated with respect to physical and optical properties of films such as deposition rate, electrical properties, structure, and transmittance. As the RF power increases, the resistivity gradually decreases, and the transmittance slightly decreases. For the variation of deposition pressure, the resistivity greatly increases, and the transmittance is decreased with increasing deposition pressure. As a result, it was demonstrated that an IZO film with the resistivity of 3.89 × 10^-4 Ω·cm, the hole mobility of 51.28 ㎠/Vs, and the light transmittance of 86.89% in the visible spectrum at room temperature can be prepared without post-deposition annealing.

ZnO-based transparent conductive films have been widely studied to achieve high performance optoelectronic devices such as next generation flexible and transparent display systems. In order to achieve a transparent flexible ZnO-based device, a low temperature growth technique using a flexible polymer substrate is required. In this work, high quality flexible ZnO films were grown on colorless polyimide substrate using atomic layer deposition (ALD). Transparent ZnO films grown from 80 to 200℃ were fabricated with a metal-semiconductor-metal structure photodetectors (PDs). As the growth temperature of ZnO film increases, the photocurrent of UV PDs increases, while the sensitivity of that decreases. In addition, it is found that the response times of the PDs become shorter as the growth temperature increases. Based on these results, we suggest that high-quality ZnO film can be grown below 200℃ in an atomic layer deposition system, and can be applied to transparent and flexible UV PDs with very fast response time and high photocurrent.

The alignment characteristics of liquid crystal (LC) molecules on a solution-derived lanthanum zinc oxide (LZO) film under ion-beam irradiation were demonstrated. Using the solution process, an LZO film was fabricated on the glass substrate and cured at 100℃. Afterwards, ion-beam irradiation was performed following the LC alignment method. Using this film, an LC cell was fabricated and the characteristics of the LC alignment were verified. Cross polarizing microscopy and the crystal rotation method were used to investigate the alignment state of the LC molecules on the LZO films. Furthermore, field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to explore the effect of the ion-beam irradiation on the LZO film. Through these, it was confirmed that the ion-beam irradiation induced surface modification, which demonstrated anisotropic physical and chemical surface characteristics. Due to this, uniform LC alignment was achieved. Finally, the residual DC and anchoring energy of the LC cell based on the LZO films were measured using a capacitance-voltage curve.

In this study, we fabricated an NOX gas sensor using a composite film of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)/zinc oxide (ZnO). Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show good electronic conductivity and chemical-stability, and zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide band gap semiconductor with a large exciton binding energy. Gas sensors require characteristics such as high speed, sensitivity, and selectivity. The fabricated gas sensor was used to detect NOX gas at different NOX concentrations. The sensitivity of the gas sensor increased with increasing gas concentrations. Additionally, while changing the temperature inside the chamber containing the MWCNT/ZnO gas sensor, we obtained the sensitivity and normalized responses for detecting NOX gas in comparison to ZnO and MWCNT film gas sensors. From the experimental results, we confirmed that the gas sensor sensing mechanism was enhanced in the composite-film gas-sensor and that the electronic interaction between MWCNT and ZnO contributed to the improved sensor performance.

We investigated solution-processed indium-zinc oxide (IZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) by inserting a 2-(4- biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD) buffer layer. This buffer layer efficiently tuned the energy level between the semiconducting oxide channel and metal electrode by increasing charge extraction, thereby enhancing the overall device performance: the IZO TFT with embedded PBD layer (thickness: 5 nm; width: 2,000 μm; length: 200 μm) exhibited a field-effect mobility of 1.31 cm²V^-1s^-1, threshold voltage of 0.12 V, subthreshold swing of 0.87 V decade^-1, and on/off current ratio of 9.28×10⁵.

IZO transistors with Al₂O₃ as gate dielectrics have been investigated. To improve permittivity in an ambient dielectric layer, we grew Al₂O₃ by atomic layer deposition directly onto the substrates. Then, we prepared IZO semiconductor solutions with 0.1 M indium nitrate hydrate [In(NO₃)₃·xH₂O] and 0.1 M zinc acetate dehydrate [Zn(CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O] as precursor solutions; the IZO solution made with a molar ratio of 7:3 was then prepared. It has been found that these oxide transistors exhibit low operating voltage, good turn-on voltage, and an average field-effect mobility of 0.90 ㎠/Vs in ambient conditions. Studies of low-voltage driving of IZO transistors with atomic layer-deposited high-k Al₂O₃ as gate dielectric provide data of relevance for the potential use of these materials and this technology in transparent display devices and displays.

Because silicon thin film solar cells have a high absorption coefficient in visible light, they can absorb 90% of the solar spectrum in a 1-μm-thick layer. Silicon thin film solar cells also have high transparency and are lightweight. Therefore, they can be used for building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems. However, the contact electrode needs to be replaced for fabricating silicon thin film solar cells in BIPV systems, because most of the silicon thin film solar cells use metal electrodes that have a high reflectivity and low transmittance. In this study, we replace the conventional aluminum top electrode with a transparent aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) electrode, the band level of which matches well with that of the intrinsic layer of the silicon thin film solar cell and has high transmittance. We show that the AZO effectively replaces the top metal electrode and the bottom fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate without a noticeable degradation of the photovoltaic characteristics.

In this study, we fabricated NOX gas sensor by using multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNT)/zinc oxide(ZnO) composite film. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have good electronic, chemical-stability, and sensitivity characteristics. And zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide band gap and large exciton binding energy semiconductor. In particular, gas sensors require characteristics such as high speed, sensitivity, and selectivity. The fabricated gas sensor was used to detect NOX gas for different values of the NOX gas concentrations. The gas sensor that absorbed NOX gas molecules showed a increasing in resistance. The sensitivity of the gas sensor was increased by increasing the gas concentrations. Additionally, while changing the temperature inside the chamber for the MWCNT/ZnO composite film gas sensor, we obtained the sensitivity. And the comparison analysis to ZnO film gas sensor for detecting NOX gas. From the experiment result, we confirmed improvement of NOX gas detection characteristics using the MWCNT/ZnO composite film.

For the application to the window layer of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cell, zinc oxide(ZnO) thin film was deposited at various temperatures by in-line pulsed DC sputtering. From the structural, optical, and electrical investigation and analysis, it was possible to obtain the lower thickness, the lower resistivity, and the higher transmittance at a higher process temperature. The energy band gap of ZnO was calculated using the transmittance data and was analyzed in terms of the dependency on temperature. From the X-ray diffraction(XRD) results, it was possible to conclude that a dominant peak was found about 34.2 ～ 34.6° (111) and crystallinity was obtained at a temperature above 150℃.

ZnO thin films were deposited on p-type 4H-SiC substrate by pulsed laser deposition. ZnO nanowires were formed on p-type 4H-SiC substrate by furnace. Ti/Au electrodes were deposited on ZnO thin film/SiC and ZnO nanowire/SiC structures, respectively. Structural and crystallographical properties of the fabricated ZnO thin film/SiC and ZnO nanowire/SiC structures were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. In this work, resistance and sensitivity of ZnO thin film/SiC gas sensor and ZnO nanowire/SiC gas sensor were measured at 300℃ with various CO gas concentrations (0%, 90%, 70%, and 50%). Resistance of gas sensor decreases at CO gas atmosphere. Sensitivity of ZnO nanowire/SiC gas sensor is twice as big as sensitivity of ZnO thin film/SiC gas sensor.

In this research, we prepared Ga doped zinc oxide(ZnO:Ga, GZO) targets each difference sintering temperature 700℃, 800℃, and doping rate 1 wt.%, 2 wt.%, 3 wt.%. The characteristics of thin film on glass substrates which deposited by facing target sputtering in pure Ar atmosphere are reported. Ga doped zinc oxide film is attracted material through low resistivity, high transmittance, etc. When prepared target powder`s structure was investigated by scanning electron microscope, densification and coarsening by driving force was observed. For each ZnO:Ga films with a Ga2O3 content of 3 wt.% at input power of 45 W, the lowest resistivity of 9.967×10(-4) Ω·cm (700℃) and 9.846×10(-4) Ω ·cm (800℃) was obtained. the carrier concentration and mobility were 4.09 × 10(20) cm-3(700℃), 4.12×10(20) cm-3(800℃) and 15.31 cm2/V·s(700℃), 12.51 cm2/V·s(800℃), respectively. And except 1 wt.% Ga doped ZnO thin film, average transmittance of these samples in the range 350-800 nm was over 80%.

In the study, the characteristics of the etched Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films surface, the etch rate of ZnO thin film in Cl2/BCl3/Ar plasma was investigated. The maximum ZnO etch rate of 53 nm/min was obtained for Cl2/BCl3/Ar=3:16:4 sccm gas mixture. According to the x-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), the etched ZnO thin film was investigated to the chemical reaction of the ZnO surface in Cl2/BCl3/Ar plasma. The field emission auger electron spectroscopy (FE-AES) analysis showed an elemental analysis from the etched surfaces. According to the etching time, the ZnO thin film of etched was obtained to The AES depth-profile analysis. We used to atomic force microscopy to determine the roughness of the surface. So, the root mean square of ZnO thin film was 17.02 in Cl2/BCl3/Ar plasma. Based on these data, the ion-assisted chemical reaction was proposed as the main etch mechanism for the plasmas.