• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.196-203
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• 2019

We report on the fabrication and characterization of an oxide photoanode with a zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod array embedded in cuprous oxide ($Cu_2O$) thin film, namely a $ZnO/Cu_2O$ oxide p-n heterostructure photoanode, for enhanced efficiency of visible light driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. A vertically oriented n-type ZnO nanorod array is first prepared on an indium-tin-oxide-coated glass substrate via a seed-mediated hydrothermal synthesis method and then a p-type $Cu_2O$ thin film is directly electrodeposited onto the vertically oriented ZnO nanorod array to form an oxide p-n heterostructure. The introduction of $Cu_2O$ layer produces a noticeable enhancement in the visible light absorption. From the observed PEC current density versus voltage (J-V) behavior under visible light illumination, the photoconversion efficiency of this $ZnO/Cu_2O$ p-n heterostructure photoanode is found to reach 0.39 %, which is seven times that of a pristine ZnO nanorod photoanode. In particular, a significant PEC performance is observed even at an applied bias of 0 V vs $Hg/Hg_2Cl_2$, which makes the device self-powered. The observed improvement in the PEC performance is attributed to some synergistic effect of the p-n bilayer heterostructure on the formation of a built-in potential including the light absorption and separation processes of photoinduced charge carriers, which provides a new avenue for preparing efficient photoanodes for PEC water splitting.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.84-89
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• 2016

We present the rectifying and nitrogen monoxide (NO) gas sensing properties of an oxide semiconductor heterostructure composed of n-type zinc oxide (ZnO) and p-type copper oxide thin layers. A CuO thin layer was first formed on an indium-tin-oxide-coated glass substrate by sol-gel spin coating method using copper acetate monohydrate and diethanolamine as precursors; then, to form a p-n oxide heterostructure, a ZnO thin layer was spin-coated on the CuO layer using copper zinc dihydrate and diethanolamine. The crystalline structures and microstructures of the heterojunction materials were examined using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The observed current-voltage characteristics of the p-n oxide heterostructure showed a non-linear diode-like rectifying behavior at various temperatures ranging from room temperature to $200^{\circ}C$. When the spin-coated ZnO/CuO heterojunction was exposed to the acceptor gas NO in dry air, a significant increase in the forward diode current of the p-n junction was observed. It was found that the NO gas response of the ZnO/CuO heterostructure exhibited a maximum value at an operating temperature as low as $100^{\circ}C$ and increased gradually with increasing of the NO gas concentration up to 30 ppm. The experimental results indicate that the spin-coated ZnO/CuO heterojunction structure has significant potential applications for gas sensors and other oxide electronics.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.258-264
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• 2019

Assembling heterostructures by combining dissimilar oxide semiconductors is a promising approach to enhance charge separation and transfer in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this work, the CuO nanorods array/$Cu_2O$ thin film bilayered heterostructure was successfully fabricated by a facile method that involved a direct electrodeposition of the $Cu_2O$ thin film onto the vertically oriented CuO nanorods array to serve as the photoelectrode for the PEC water oxidation. The resulting copper-oxide-based heterostructure photoelectrode exhibited an enhanced PEC performance compared to common copper-oxide-based photoelectrodes, indicating good charge separation and transfer efficiency due to the band structure realignment at the interface. The photocurrent density and the optimal photocurrent conversion efficiency obtained on the CuO nanorods/$Cu_2O$ thin film heterostructure were $0.59mA/cm^2$ and 1.10% at 1.06 V vs. RHE, respectively. These results provide a promising route to fabricating earth-abundant copper-oxide-based photoelectrode for visible-light-driven hydrogen generation using a facile, low-cost, and scalable approach of combining electrodeposition and hydrothermal synthesis.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.32-37
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• 2018

We report on the efficient detection of NO gas by an all-oxide semiconductor p-n heterojunction diode structure comprised of n-type zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods embedded in p-type copper oxide (CuO) thin film. The CuO thin film/ZnO nanorod heterostructure was fabricated by directly sputtering CuO thin film onto a vertically aligned ZnO nanorod array synthesized via a hydrothemal method. The transport behavior and NO gas sensing properties of the fabricated CuO thin film/ZnO nanorod heterostructure were charcterized and revealed that the oxide semiconductor heterojunction exhibited a definite rectifying diode-like behavior at various temperatures ranging from room temperature to $250^{\circ}C$. The NO gas sensing experiment indicated that the CuO thin film/ZnO nanorod heterostructure had a good sensing performance for the efficient detection of NO gas in the range of 2-14 ppm under the conditions of an applied bias of 2 V and a comparatively low operating temperature of $150^{\circ}C$. The NO gas sensing process in the CuO/ZnO p-n heterostructure is discussed in terms of the electronic band structure.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.214-220
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• 2018

We report on the fabrication and photoelectrochemical(PEC) properties of a $Cu_2O$ thin film/ZnO nanorod array oxide p-n heterojunction structure with ZnO nanorods embedded in $Cu_2O$ thin film as an efficient photoelectrode for solar-driven water splitting. A vertically oriented n-type ZnO nanorod array was first prepared on an indium-tin-oxide-coated glass substrate via a seed-mediated hydrothermal synthesis method and then a p-type $Cu_2O$ thin film was directly electrodeposited onto the vertically oriented ZnO nanorods array to form an oxide semiconductor heterostructure. The crystalline phases and morphologies of the heterojunction materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy as well as Raman scattering. The PEC properties of the fabricated $Cu_2O/ZnO$ p-n heterojunction photoelectrode were evaluated by photocurrent conversion efficiency measurements under white light illumination. From the observed PEC current density versus voltage (J-V) behavior, the $Cu_2O/ZnO$ photoelectrode was found to exhibit a negligible dark current and high photocurrent density, e.g., $0.77mA/cm^2$ at 0.5 V vs $Hg/HgCl_2$ in a $1mM\;Na_2SO_4$ electrolyte, revealing an effective operation of the oxide heterostructure. In particular, a significant PEC performance was observed even at an applied bias of 0 V vs $Hg/HgCl_2$, which made the device self-powered. The observed PEC performance was attributed to some synergistic effect of the p-n bilayer heterostructure on the formation of a built-in potential, including the light absorption and separation processes of photoinduced charge carriers.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.765-770
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• 2003

We have developed a low-temperature, and low-pressure radical induced oxidation (RIO) technology, so that high-quality ultrathin silicon dioxide layers have been effectively produced with a high reproducibility, and successfully employed to realize high performace SiGe heterostructure complementary MOSFETs (HCMOS) lot the first time. The obtained oxide layer showed comparable leakage and breakdown properties to conventional furnace gate oxides, and no hysteresis was observed during high-frequency capacitance-voltage characterization. Strained SiGe HCMOS transistors with a 2.5 nm-thick gate oxide layer grown by this method exhibited excellent device properties. These suggest that the present technique is particularly suitable for HCMOS devices requiring a fast and high-precision gate oxidation process with a low thermal budget.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.604-610
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• 2016

We report on the fabrication and characterization of a novel $Cu_2O/CuO$ heterojunction structure with CuO nanorods embedded in $Cu_2O$ thin film as an efficient photocathode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar water splitting. A CuO nanorod array was first prepared on an indium-tin-oxide-coated glass substrate via a seed-mediated hydrothermal synthesis method; then, a $Cu_2O$ thin film was electrodeposited onto the CuO nanorod array to form an oxide semiconductor heterostructure. The crystalline phases and morphologies of the heterojunction materials were examined using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, as well as Raman scattering. The PEC properties of the fabricated $Cu_2O/CuO$ heterojunction photocathode were evaluated by photocurrent conversion efficiency measurements under white light illumination. From the observed PEC current density versus voltage (J-V) behavior, the $Cu_2O/CuO$ photocathode was found to exhibit negligible dark current and high photocurrent density, e.g. $-1.05mA/cm^2$ at -0.6 V vs. $Hg/HgCl_2$ in $1mM\;Na_2SO_4$ electrolyte, revealing the effective operation of the oxide heterostructure. The photocurrent conversion efficiency of the $Cu_2O/CuO$ photocathode was estimated to be 1.27% at -0.6 V vs. $Hg/HgCl_2$. Moreover, the PEC current density versus time (J-T) profile measured at -0.5 V vs. $Hg/HgCl_2$ on the $Cu_2O/CuO$ photocathode indicated a 3-fold increase in the photocurrent density compared to that of a simple $Cu_2O$ thin film photocathode. The improved PEC performance was attributed to a certain synergistic effect of the bilayer heterostructure on the light absorption and electron-hole recombination processes.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.531-536
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• 2013

The impact of UV irradiation process on the AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor heterostructure field-effect transistor was investigated. Due to the high intensity UV irradiation before the gate dielectric deposition, the conductivity of AlGaN/GaN structure and the drain saturation current of the transistor increased by about 10 %. However, the pinch off characteristics of transistor was severely deformed by the process. By comparing the electrical characteristics of the transistors, it was proposed that the high intensity UV irradiation formed a sub-channel under the two dimensional electron gas of AlGaN/GaN structure even without additional impurity injection.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.151.1-151.1
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• 2016

Complex oxide heterointerfaces have been extensively explored in the past due to the novel phenomenon emerging at such interfaces that differ from their individual bulk counterparts. The integration of a ferromagnetic (FM) material with the superconducting (SC) material leading to proximity effect is one of the commonly studied phenomenon in these heterostructures. In continuation, we have stabilized the FM layer La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 (LCMO) on SC material YBa2Cu3O7-${\delta}$ (YBCO) using pulsed laser deposition technique and explored the structural, magnetic, electrical and magneto-transport properties of this heterostructure. ${\Phi}$-scan measurements confirm the epitaxial nature of LCMO/YBCO heterostructure grown on single crystalline SrTiO3 substrate. The FM transition of LCMO and SC transition of YBCO are observed in the magnetization measurements of the bilayer structure. Through electrical measurements, we understood that the proximity effect leads to lowering of the SC transition of YBCO. The role of interface in the bilayer structure is also realized through electrical transport measurements.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1672-1678
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• 1989

Major problems preventing the device-quality GaAs/Si heterostructure are the lattice mismatch of about 4% and difference in thermal expansion coefficient by a factor of 2.64 between Si and GaAs. Ge is a good candidate for the buffer layer because its lattice parameter and thermal expansion coefficient are almost the same as those of GaAs. As a first step toward developing heterostructure such as GaAs/Ge/Si entirely by a home-built PAE (plasma-assisted epitaxy), Ge films have been deposited on p-type Si (100)substrate by the plasma assisted evaporation of solid Ge source. The characteristics of these Ge/Si heterostructure were determined by X-ray diffraction, SEM and Auge electron spectroscope. PAE system has been successfully applied to quality-good Ge layer on Si substrate at relatively low temperature. Furthermore, this system can remove the native oxide(SiO2) on Si substrate with in-situ cleaning procedure. Ge layer grown on Si substrate by PAE at substrate temperature of 450\ulcorner in hydrogen partial pressure of 10mTorr was expected with a good buffer layer for GaAs/Ge/Si heterostructure.