Jaehwan Ha

A Ge inverse opal with porous walls as an anode for lithium ion batteries

Germanium holds great potential as an anode material for lithium ion batteries due to its large theoretical energy density and excellent intrinsic properties related to its kinetics associated with lithium and electrons. However, the problem related to the tremendous volume change of Ge during cycling is the dominant obstacle for its practical use. The previous research has focused on the improvement in mechanics associated with lithium without consideration of the kinetics. In this study, we demonstrate that the configuration engineering of the Ge electrode enables the improvement in kinetics as well as favorable mechanics. Two types of Ge inverse opal structures with porous walls and dense walls were prepared using a confined convective assembly method and by adjusting Ge deposition parameters in a chemical vapor deposition system. The Ge inverse opal electrode with porous walls shows much improved electrochemical performances, especially cycle performance and rate capability, than the electrode with dense walls. These improvements are attributed to a large free surface, which offers a facile strain relaxation pathway and a large lithium flux from the electrolyte to the active material.

3D Cross-Linked Nanoweb Architecture of Binder-Free TiO2 Electrodes for Lithium Ion Batteries

The nanoweb structure of TiO2 anode, cross-linked between electrospun nanofibers, is directly fabricated on the current collector by utilizing the fluidity of low glass transition temperature polymer, poly(vinyl acetate), at room temperature. This characteristic enables us to fabricate the nanoweb structure by direct electrospinning on the current collector, followed by uniaxial pressing. This proposed structure facilitates electron transport through the direct conducting pathways between TiO2 active materials and current collector as well as provides strong adhesion strength to the current collector without polymeric binders. Consequently, we could achieve stable cycle performance up to 100 cycles and the excellent rate capability of ∼60% at high rate charge/discharge condition of 10 C.

Patterned oxide semiconductor by electrohydrodynamic jet printing for transparent thin film transistors

This paper explores transport in transparent thin film transistors formed using a liquid precursor to indium zinc oxide, delivered to target substrates by electrohydrodynamic jet (e-jet) printing. Under optimized conditions, we observe field effect mobilities as high as 32 cm2V−1s−1, with on/off current ratios of 103 and threshold voltages of 2 V. These results provide evidence that material manipulated in fine-jet, electric field induced liquid flows can yield semiconductor devices without any adverse effects of residual charge or unintentional doping. E-jet printing methods provide levels of resolution (∼1.5 μm) that provide a path to printed transistors with small critical dimensions.

Controlled growth of vertically aligned ZnO nanowires with different crystal orientation of the ZnO seed layer

A novel synthesis and growth method achieving vertically aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires on a silicon dioxide (SiO(2)) coated silicon (Si) substrate is demonstrated. The growth direction of the ZnO nanowires is determined by the crystal structure of the ZnO seed layer, which is formed by the oxidation of a DC-sputtered Zn film. The [002] crystal direction of the seed layer is dominant under optimized thickness of the Zn film and thermal treatment. Vertically aligned ZnO nanowires on SiO(2) coated Si substrate are realized from the appropriately thick oxidized Zn seed layer by a vapor-solid growth mechanism by catalyst-free thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD). These experimental results raise the possibility of using the nanowires as functional blocks for high-density integration systems and/or photonic applications.

Growth of nitrogen doped ZnO films through a nitrogen diffusion process from WN films formed by a cosputtering technique

High quality nitrogen doped ZnO films were fabricated on glass substrates by allowing nitrogen atoms from a pregrown tungsten nitride (WN) to be activated and diffused into a pure ZnO film during an in situ post-thermal annealing process. The N doped ZnO film exhibited reproducible electrical properties including a Hall concentration of 3.69×1018 cm−3, a mobility of 1.35 cm2/Vs , and a resistivity of 10 Ω cm at room temperature, along with corresponding structural results. Further investigation using ZnO p-n homojunctions, which displayed good I-V characteristics with a turn-on voltage of about 3 V, demonstrated that the p-type ZnO growth process can simply form p-type ZnO:N.