This study analyzed the change of electrical characteristics of a photocoupler when a narrow-band electromagnetic wave was combined with the photocoupler. A magnetron (3 kW, 2.45 GHz) was used as the narrow-band electromagnetic source. The EUT was Photocoupler (6N139) and the input signal was divided into two types: a square pulse and the second signal is 0 V. The malfunction of the photocoupler was confirmed by monitoring the variation in the output voltage of the photocoupler. As a result of the experiment, changes in the malfunctioning was observed as the electric field was increased. There are three types of malfunction modes: delay, output voltage off, and fluctuation. Bit errors were analyzed to verify the electrical characteristics of the photocoupler by narrow-band electromagnetic waves. The result of this study can be used as basic data for the effect analysis of photocoupler protection and impact analysis of high-power electromagnetic waves.
Ni germanide (NiGe) is a promising alloy material with small contact resistance at the source/drain (S/D) of Ge MOSFETs. However, it is necessary to reduce the specific contact resistance between NiGe and the doped Ge S/D region in high-performance MOSFETs. In this study, a novel method is proposed to reduce the specific contact resistance between NiGe and p-type Ge (p-Ge) using a Tb interlayer. The specific contact resistance between NiGe and p-Ge was successfully decreased with the introduction of the Tb interlayer. To investigate the mechanism behind the reduction in the specific contact resistance, the elemental distribution and crystalline structure of NiGe were analyzed using secondary ion mass spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. It is likely that the reduction in specific contact resistance was caused by an increase in the concentration of boron in the space between NiGe and p-Ge due to the influence of the Tb interlayer.
Two-dimensional (2D) materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides have attracted tremendous scientific interests owing to their potential of solving the zero band-gap issue of graphene. In this work, the research areas and technology evolutionary dynamics of the 2D materials were identified using the scientometric method focusing on keyword mapping and clustering. The time-series analysis showed that the technological progress of 2D material is in the early growth period. The overlay mapping analysis were carried out to investigate the technology evolution of 2D materials with time. The strategic diagram of co-word analysis classifying the topological positions of keyword was derived to support the analysis results. It is conjectured that extensive research will be conducted widely on the application of 2D materials not only in electronic and optoelectronic devices, but also in various other fields such as biomedical applications, and that their development will be more rapid based on accumulated results of extant graphene research.
In a Pb-included piezoelectric composition, SryPb1-y[(Zn1/3Nb2/3)x-(Ni1/3Nb2/3)0.2-(Zr0.46Ti0.54)0.8-x]O3 was selected in order to attain high piezoelectric properties. According to the PZN ratio (x) and the amount of Sr doping (y), the crystal structure, microstructure and piezoelectric properties were measured and evaluated. In the case of Sr 4 mol% doping, the piezoelectric properties were the highest for a PZN ratio of 0.1. In this condition, the grain size was larger and the intensity was higher. With the PZN ratio fixed and varying the Sr doping, the piezoelectric properties increased until 10 mol% doping and then decreased for over 12 mol% doping. In the case of x=0.1 and y=10 mol%, the best piezoelectric properties were obtained, i.e., d33=660 pC/N and kp=68.5%, and these values seem to be related to the grain size and crystal structure.
Insulators used in overhead transmission lines are continuously exposed to a number of mechanical and electrical stresses owing to external environmental factors, resulting in corrosion, reduction in durability, and deterioration. Widely used porcelain insulators are fabricated with cement and porcelain and are especially common in Korea. Changes in the hardness and chemical reactivity of the cement increase the leakage and fault currents and increase the possibility of flashover due to insulation breakdown. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the durability and defects of porcelain insulators. Studies on the reliability of various evaluation methods are needed to prevent accidents by accurately determining the replacement timing and potential defects in porcelain insulators. In this study, the hardness of the cement part of the porcelain insulator was measured using the Vickers hardness test and its composition was analyzed by energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The performance of the insulators was compared in two different regions with varying climatic conditions. This study presents an evaluation method of the defects in porcelain insulators by measuring humidity, which can also be used to assess the reliability of the insulators.
Using a vanadium dioxide (VO2) source, highly pure and amorphous vanadium oxide (VO) thin films were deposited using an e-beam evaporator at room temperature and high vacuum (<10-7 Torr). Then, by controlling the post-annealing conditions such as N2:O2 pressure ratio and annealing time, we could easily synthesize a homogeneous VO2 thin film and also mixed-phase VO thin films, including VO2, V2O5, V3O7, V5O9, and V6O13. The crystallinity and phase of these were characterized by X-ray diffraction, and the surface morphology by FE-SEM. Moreover, the electrical properties and ethanol sensing measurements of the VO thin films were analyzed as a function of temperature. In general, mixed-phases as a self-doping effect have enhanced electrical properties, with a high carrier density and an enhanced response to ethanol. In summary, we developed an easy, scalable, and reproducible fabrication process for VO thin films that is a promising candidate for many potential electrical and optical applications.
In this study, e-beam equipment was used to form silver nanoparticles on thin films of TiO2 to increase the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells and improve the annealing process. TiO2 thin films with nanoparticle photoelectrodes were fabricated in individual units for use in dye-sensitized solar cells. The characteristics of dye-sensitized solar cells were compared to those of the prepared TiO2 photoelectrode with and without nanoparticles. The dye-sensitized solar cells with silver nanoparticles showed a significant increase in the electric current density compared with the pure TiO2 dye-sensitized solar cell and improved the solar conversion efficiency to 27.89%. The increased density of electric current increased the extent of light absorption of the dye owing to the plasmon resonance of the nanoparticles at the local surfaces. This phenomenon led to increased light scattering, which in turn increased the current density of the dye-sensitized solar cells and improved the solar conversion efficiency.
Various Ni-doped carbon (C:Ni) thin films were fabricated using different Ni target power densities by unbalanced magnetron sputtering (UBM). The effects of target power density on the structural, physical, surface, and electrical properties of C:Ni films were investigated. The UBM C:Ni thin films exhibited uniformly smooth surfaces. The rms surface roughness and friction coefficient values of the C:Ni films decreased with the increase in target power density. The physical properties of the films such as hardness and elastic moduli increased while their electrical properties such as resistivity decreased with the increase in the target power density. These results show that an increase of the power density leads to an increase in the proportion of Ni and nanocrystallization of the amorphous carbon film; this contributes to the changes observed in the physical and electrical characteristics.
This study analyzed the Vulnerability of Network Communication devices when IEMI is coupled with the Network System. An Ultra Wide Band Generator (180 kV, 700 MHz) was used as the IEMI source. The EUTs are the Switch Hub and Workstation, which are used to configure the network system. The network system was monitored through the LAN system configuration, to confirm a malfunction of the network device. The results of the experiment indicate that a malfunction of the network occurs as the electric field increases. The data loss rate increases proportionally with increasing radiating time. In the case of the Switch Hub, the threshold electric field value was 10 kV/m for all conditions used in this experiment. The threshold point causing malfunction was influenced only by the electric field value. The correlation between the threshold point and pulse repetition rate was not found. However, in case of the Workstation, it was found that as the pulse repetition rate increases, the equipment responds weakly and the threshold value decreases. To verify the electrical coupling of the EUT by IEMI, current sensors were used to measure the PCB line inside the EUT and network line coupling current. As a result of the measurement, it can be inferred that when the coupling current due to IEMI exceeds the threshold value, it flows through the internal equipment line, causing a malfunction and subsequent failure. The results of this study can be applied to basic data for equipment protection, and effect analysis of intentional electromagnetic interference.
In this study, a femtosecond laser pre-annealing technology based on indium zinc oxide (IZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) was investigated. We demonstrated a stable pre-annealing process to analyze the change in the surface structures of thin-films, and we improved the electrical performance. Furthermore, static and dynamic electrical characteristics of IZO TFTs with n-channel inverters were observed. To investigate the static and dynamic responses of our solution-processed IZO TFTs, simple resistor-load-type inverters were fabricated by connecting a 1-MΩ resistor. The femtosecond laser pre-annealing process based on IZO TFTs showed good performance: a field-effect mobility of 3.75 cm2/Vs, an Ion/Ioff ratio of 1.8×105, a threshold voltage of 1.13 V, and a subthreshold swing of 1.21 V/dec. Our IZO-TFT-based N-MOS inverter performed well at operating voltage, and therefore, is a good candidate for advanced logic circuits and display backplane.
Transparent conductive thin films (TCFs) are essential materials for solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, and display panels. Indium tin oxide (ITO) is one of the most widely used commercial materials to create TCFs’; however, new materials that can possibly replace ITO at a lower cost and/or those possessing mechanical flexibility are urgently needed. Silver nanowire (AgNW) is one of those promising materials, as it is less expensive and possesses superior mechanical flexibility as compared to ITO. We used AgNW and sol-gel ZnO to fabricate composite thin films by spray coating. We propose two spray-coating methods: the ‘metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)/AgNW’ method and the Mixture method. These two methods are expected to be commercialized for high-quality and low-cost products, respectively.
High-power lithium batteries are suitable for equipment with high power output needs, such as for ESS’s initial start-up. However, their management cost is increased by the installation of air-conditioning to minimize the risk of explosion due to internal temperature rise and also by a restriction on the number of charge/discharge cycles. High-capacity flow batteries, on the other hand, have many advantages. They can be used for over 20 years due to their low management costs, resulting from no risk of explosion and a high number of charge/discharge cycles. In this paper, we propose an ESS based on hybrid batteries that uses a lithium iron phosphate battery (LiFePO) at the initial startup and a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) from the end of the transient period, with a bi-directional PCS to operate two batteries with different DC voltage levels and using an efficient energy management control algorithm.