To enhance the tunneling electroresistance (TER) ratio of a ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) device using Al-doped HfO2 thin films, a thin insulating layer was prepared on a TiN bottom electrode, for which TiN was preliminarily treated at various temperatures in O2 ambient. The composition and thickness of the inserted insulating layer were optimized at 600℃ and 50 Torr, and the FTJ showed a high TER ratio of 430. During the heat treatments, a titanium oxide layer formed on the surface of TiN, that suppressed oxygen vacancy generation in the ferroelectric thin film. It was found that the fabricated FTJ device exhibits two distinct resistance states with higher tunneling currents by properly heat-treating the TiN bottom electrode of the HfO2-based FTJ devices in O2 ambient.

An increase in the temperature of photovoltaic (PV) modules causes reduced power output and shorter lifetime. Because of these characteristics, demands for the heat dissipation of PV modules are increasing. In this study, we attached a heat dissipation sheet to the back sheet of a shingled PV module and observed the temperature changes. The PV shingled module was tested under Standard Test Conditions (STCs; irradiance: 1,000 W/m2, temperature: 25℃, air mass: 1.5) using a solar radiation tester, wherein the temperature of the PV module was measured by irradiating light for a certain duration. As a result, the temperature of the PV module with the heat dissipation sheet decreased by 3℃ compared to that without a heat dissipation sheet. This indicated that the power loss was caused by a temperature increase of the PV module. In addition, it was confirmed that the primary parameter contributing to the reduced PV module output power was the open circuit voltage (Voc).

Non-volatile memory is approaching its fundamental limits with the Si3N4 storage layer, necessitating the use of alternative materials to achieve a higher programming/erasing speed, larger storage window, and better data retention at lower operating voltage. This limitation has restricted the development of the charge-trap memory, but can be addressed by using high-k dielectrics. The paper reviews the doping of nitrogen, titanium, and yttrium on high-k dielectrics as a storage layer by comparing MONOS devices with different storage layers. The results show that nitrogen doping increases the storage window of the Gd2O3 storage layer and improves its charge retention. Titanium doping can increase the charge capture rate of HfO2 storage layer. Yttrium doping increases the storage window of the BaTiO3 storage layer and improves its fatigue characteristics. Parameters such as the dielectric constant, leakage current, and speed of the memory device can be controlled by maintaining a suitable amount of external impurities in the device.

In this study, ZnO:Ga thin films were fabricated on a glass substrate using various Ar flows by an RF magnetron sputter system at room temperature. The dependencies of Ar flow on different properties were investigated. An appropriate control over the Ar flow led to the formation of a high-quality thin film. The ZnO:Ga films were formed as a hexagonal wurtzite structure with high (002) preferential orientation. The films exhibited a typical columnar microstructure and a smooth top face. The average transmittance was 85~89% within the visible area. By decreasing the Ar flow, the sheet resistance was decreased due to an increase in the grain size and a decrease in the root mean square roughness. The lowest sheet resistance of 86 Ω/□ was obtained at room temperature for the 40 sccm Ar flow.

In this study, a TiO2/TiO2-x-based resistance variable memory was fabricated using a DC/RF magnetron sputtering system and ALD. In order to analyze the effect of oxygen plasma treatment on the performance of resistance random access memory (ReRAM), the TiO2/TiO2-x-based ReRAM was evaluated by applying RF power to the TiO2-x oxygen-holding layer at 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 W, respectively. The ReRAM was fabricated, and the electrical and surface area performances were compared and analyzed. In the case of ReRAM without oxygen plasma treatment, the I-V curve had a hysteresis curve shape, but the width was very small, with a relatively high surface roughness of the oxygen-retaining layer. However, in the case of oxygen plasma treatment, the HRS/LRS ratio for the I-V curve improved as the applied RF power increased; stable improvement was also noted in the surface roughness of the oxygen-retaining layer. It was confirmed that the low voltage drive was not smooth due to charge trapping in the oxygen diffusion barrier layer owing to the high intensity ReRAM applied with an RF power of approximately 150 W.

This study reports the fabrication and application of semitransparent Cu nanoparticle layers. Spin coating and subsequent drying of a Cu colloid solution were performed to deposit Cu nanoparticle layers onto Si and glass substrates. As the spin speed of the spin coating increases, the density of the nanoparticles on the substrate decreases, and the agglomeration of nanoparticles is suppressed. This microstructural variation affects the optical properties of the nanoparticle layers. The transmittance and reflectance of the Cu nanoparticle layers increase with increasing spin speed, which results from the trade-off between the exposed substrate area and surface coverage of the Cu nanoparticles. Since the glass substrates coated with Cu nanoparticle layers are semitransparent and colored, it is anticipated that the application of a Cu nanoparticle-dielectric bilayer structure to transparent solar cells will improve the cell efficiency as well as aesthetic appearance.

Heterolayered K(Ta,Nb)O3/Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates were prepared by a sol-gel process and spin-coating method. The structural and electrical properties were measured to investigate the possibility of application as an electrocaloric effect device. All specimens exhibited dense and uniform cross-sectional structures without pores, and the average thickness of the specimen coated six times was approximately 394 nm. Curie temperatures were observed at 5℃ or less in type-Ⅰ and 10℃ in type-Ⅱ specimens, respectively. Type-Ⅱ specimens coated 6 times showed a relative dielectric constant of 758 and remanent polarization of 9.71 μC/cm2 at room temperature. The maximum electrocaloric effect occurred between 20 and 25℃, slightly higher than their Curie temperature, and the electrocaloric property (ΔT) of the type-Ⅱ specimens coated 6 times was approximately 1.2℃ at room temperature.

In recent years, the challenge of higher energy efficiency has emerged as urban buildings have become taller, and the area of window glasses has increased. To address the problem of energy efficiency in buildings, research on smart windows is being actively conducted. In this study, an accelerated experiment for thermal stability was conducted to fabricate a liquid crystal cell applicable to external windows. It was confirmed from the study that the function is maintained even in a high-temperature external environment through the change in transmittance by voltage. Compared with the initial transmittance, after the passage of time, the smart window cell to which the sealant was applied showed a small change in transmittance of 1~2%. This result confirmed the thermal stability of the liquid crystal-based smart window.

For electronic paper displays using electrophoresis, the response time and reflectivity of the image panel fabricated by filtering are analyzed. For the filtering process, a square wave and ramp wave are applied to white charged particles with a unique q/m value. We divide the sample panels into #1 to #4 according to the applied waveform in the filtering process. Step waves comprising two steps are used to drive the panel; therefore, we divide the driving conditions into D1~D4. The applied voltage at the first stage of the half cycle of the driving waveform moves the charged particles attached via the image force from the electrode, and the applied voltage at the second stage moves the floating charged particles by detaching. As mentioned, four types of driving conditions (D1 to D4) classified according to the half cycle of the driving waveform are applied to the samples #1 to #4), which are classified according to four types of filtering process. When driving condition D1 is applied to the four types of sample panels, the rise time of #1 is 1.59s, #2 is 1.706s, #3 is 1.853s, and #4 is 1.235s, resulting in #4 being relatively faster compared with other sample panels, and showing the same trend in other driving conditions. As a result, we confirm that applying the driving condition D1 causes abrupt movement of the white charged particles injected into the cell. When the same driving waveform (D1) is applied to each sample, reflectivities of 32.1% for #1, 31.4% for #2, 27.9% for #3, and 63.4% for #4 are measured. From the experiment, we confirm that the driving condition D1 (1s of 3.5 V, 9s of 3.0 V) and ramp wave #4 in filtering are desirable for good reflectivity and response time. Our research is expected to contribute to the improvement of the filtering process and optimization of the driving waveform.

BaTiO3 powder was synthesized by a solid-state reaction using BaCO3 and TiO2. Different calcination temperatures (800℃, 850℃, 900℃, and 950℃) were set to investigate their effects on the properties of BaTiO3 powder. The synthesized BaTiO3 phase was confirmed to be a single phase by XRD, and the tetragonality (c/a) and crystallite size were calculated. Thereafter, each calcinated BaTiO3 was sintered at five different sintering temperatures (1,100℃, 1,150℃, 1,200℃, 1,250℃, and 1,300℃), and the tetragonality, density, porosity, dielectric constant, and grain size were measured. As the calcination temperature increased, the tetragonality and crystallite size also increased, to 1.008 and 66 nm, respectively, at 950℃. Moreover, most pellets showed increased density, dielectric constant, and tetragonality as the sintering temperature increased up to 1,250℃; the same parameters slightly decreased at 1,300℃. It is noteworthy that the tetragonality of BaTiO3 at 1,250℃ exhibits a very high c/a value of 1.0084. In addition, the grain size and dielectric constant measured near the Curie temperature increased as the sintering temperature increased.