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Carbon microcoils (CMCs) were formed on stainless steel substrates using C2H2 + SF6 gas flows in a thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system. The manipulation of the SF6 gas flow rate and the SF6 gas flow injection time was carried out to obtain controllable CMC geometries. The change in CMC geometry, especially CMC diameter as a function of SF6 gas flow injection time, was remarkable. In addition, the incorporation of H2 gas into the C2H2 + SF6 gas flow system with cyclic SF6 gas flow caused the formation of the hybrid of carbon nanofibers–carbon microcoils (CNFs–CMCs). The hybrid of CNFs–CMCs was composed of numerous small-sized CNFs, which formed on the CMCs surfaces. The electromagnetic wave shielding effectiveness (SE) of the heating film, made by the hybrids of CNFs–CMCs incorporated carbon paste film, was investigated across operating frequencies in the 1.5–40 GHz range. It was compared to heating films made from commercial carbon paste or the controllable CMCs incorporated carbon paste. Although the electrical conductivity of the native commercial carbon paste was lowered by both the incorporation of the CMCs and the hybrids of CNFs–CMCs, the total SE values of the manufactured heating film increased following the incorporation of these materials. Considering the thickness of the heating film, the presently measured values rank highly among the previously reported total SE values. This dramatic improvement in the total SE values was mainly ascribed to the intrinsic characteristics of CMC and/or the hybrid of CNFs–CMCs contributing to the absorption shielding route of electromagnetic waves.

We present electrowinning of silver (Ag) from crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells using a solution of methanesulfonic acid (MSA) as the electrolyte. Ag dissolved effectively in MSA because of its high solubility in MSA; however, the electrochemical recovery of Ag from MSA solutions was found to be inefficient because of the low mobility of Ag ions in MSA, owing to its high viscosity. Therefore, we decreased the viscosity of MSA by adding deionized (DI) water, as a possible method for enhancing the mobility of Ag ions. The concentrations of added DI water were 0, 1.1, 5.0, 9.3, and 20.8 M, respectively. Further, we performed cyclic voltammetry for each solution to calculate the diffusion coefficient using the Randles–Sevcik equation, and analyzed the viscosity of MSA solutions depending on the concentration of added water using a rheometer. The morphologies of the electrochemically recovered Ag particles changed with variations in the amount of the added water, from branch-like structures to dendritic structures with a decreasing size. Moreover, the cathodic current efficiency increased considerably with increasing concentration of the added DI water. Finally, we recovered Ag with >99.9% (3N) purity from c-Si solar cells by electrowinning, as determined by glow discharge mass spectrometry.

The selective hybrid formation of numerous tiny carbon nanofibers (CNFs) in carbon-based nonwoven fabrics (c-NFs), namely CNFs formed only on the surfaces of individual carbon fibers (i-CFs) constituting c-NFs and not on the surfaces of carbon microcoils (CMCs), could be formed by the incorporation of H2 gas flow into the C2H2 + SF6 gas flow in a thermal chemical vapor deposition system. On the other hand, the nonselective hybrid formation of numerous tiny CNFs in c-NFs, that is, tiny CNFs formed on the surfaces of both i-CFs and CMCs, could be achieved by simply modulating the SF6 gas flow on and off in continuous cycles during the reaction. Detailed mechanisms are suggested for the selective or nonselective formation of tiny CNFs in c-NFs. Furthermore, the electromagnetic wave shielding effectiveness (SE) values of the samples were investigated across operating frequencies in the 8.0–12.0 GHz range. Compared with previously reported total SE values, the presently measured values rank in the top tier. Although hybrid formation reduced the electrical conductivity of the native c-NFs, the total SE values of the native c-NFs greatly increased following hybrid formation. This dramatic improvement in the total SE values is ascribed to the increased thickness of c-NFs after hybrid formation and the electromagnetic wave absorption enhancement caused by the intrinsic characteristics of CMCs and the numerous intersections of tiny CNFs.

H2 plasma treatment was performed on carbon-based nonwoven fabrics (c-NFs) in a 900 W microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system at 750 °C and 40 Torr. Consequently, the electromagnetic wave shielding effectiveness (SE) of the c-NFs was significantly enhanced across the operating frequency range of 0.04 to 20.0 GHz. We compared the electromagnetic wave SE of the H2 plasma-treated c-NFs samples with that of native c-NFs samples coated with nano-sized Ag particles. Despite having a lower surface electrical conductivity, H2 plasma-treated c-NFs samples exhibited a considerably higher electromagnetic wave SE than the Ag-coated c-NFs samples, across the relatively high operating frequency range of 7.0 to 20.0 GHz. The carbon component of H2 plasma-treated c-NFs samples increased significantly compared with the oxygen component. The H2 plasma treatment transformed the alcohol-type (C–O–H) compounds formed by carbon-oxygen bonds on the surface of the native c-NFs samples into ether-type (C–O–C) compounds. On the basis of these results, we proposed a mechanism to explain the electromagnetic wave SE enhancement observed in H2 plasma-treated c-NFs.

Carbon microcoils (CMCs) were deposited onto Al2O3 substrates using C2H2/H2 as source gases and SF6 as an incorporated additive gas in a thermal chemical vapor deposition system. CMC-polyurethane (PU) composites were obtained by dispersing the CMCs in the PU with a dimethylformamide additive. The electromagnetic wave shielding properties of the CMC-PU composites were examined in the frequency range of 0.25–1.5 GHz. The shielding effectiveness (SE) of the CMCs-PU systematically increases with increasing the content of CMCs and/or the layer thickness. Based on these results, the main SE mechanism for this work was suggested and discussed.

Bypass diodes have been widely utilized in crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaic (PV) modules to maximize the output of a PV module array under partially shaded conditions. A Schottky diode is used as the bypass diode in c-Si PV modules due to its low operating voltage. In this work, we systematically investigated the origin of bypass diode faults in c-Si PV modules operated outdoors. The temperature of the inner junction box where the bypass diode is installed increases as the ambient temperature increases. Its temperature rises to over 70 °C on sunny days in summer. As the temperature of the junction box increases from 25 to 70 °C, the leakage current increases up to 35 times under a reverse voltage of 15 V. As a result of the high leakage current of the bypass diode at high temperature, melt down of the junction barrier between the metal and semiconductor has been observed in damaged diodes collected from abnormally functioning PV modules. Thus, it is believed that the constant leakage current applied to the junction caused the melting of the junction, thereby resulting in a failure of both the bypass diode and the c-Si PV module.

Methanesulfonic acid (MSA) is used to recover silver (Ag) from solar cells by adding an oxidizing agent. It is possible to regenerate by substituting of H+ for Ag+, and thus it can be reused for additional reactions. However, MSA is highly hygroscopic, and as an oxidizing agent can easily decompose in the acidic environment during Ag extraction, leading to dilution due to the formation of H2O. This H2O in the MSA solution hinders the Ag extraction. In this study, we present a fractional distillation process for restoring the reactivity of reused MSA solutions by reducing the H2O content. Our results showed that the reactivity of the separated MSA was restored and Ag could be recovered from the solar cell.

The silicon wafers for solar cells on which the paste is deposited experience a bowing phenomenon. The thickness of commonly used c-Si wafers is 180 μm or more. When fabricating c-Si solar cells with this wafer thickness, the bowing value is 3 mm or less and the problem does not occur. However, for the thin c-Si solar cells which are being studied recently, the output reduction due to failure during manufacture and cracking are attributed to bowing. In generally, it is known that the bowing phenomenon arises mainly from the paste applied to the back side electrode of c-Si solar cells and the effects of SiNx (silicon nitride) and the paste on the front side are not considered significant. The bowing phenomenon is caused by a difference in the coefficient of expansion between heterogeneous materials, there is the effect of bowing on the front electrode and ARC. In this paper, a partially processed c-Si solar cell was fabricated and a bowing phenomenon variation according to the wafer thicknesses was confirmed. As a result of the experiment, the measured bow value after the firing process suggests that the paste on the front-side indicates a direction different from that of the back-side paste. The bow value increases when Al paste is deposited on SiNx. The fabricated c-Si solar cell was analyzed on basis of the correlation between the bowing phenomenon of the materials and the c-Si wafer using Stoney’s equation, which is capable of analyzing the relationship between bowing and stress. As a result, the bowing phenomenon of the c-Si solar cell estimated through the experiment that the back side electrode is the important element, but also the front electrode and ARC influence the bowing phenomenon when fabricating c-Si solar cells using thin c-Si wafers.

In recent years, various types of installations such as floating photovoltaic (PV) and agri-voltaic systems, and BIPV (building integrated photovoltaic system) have been implemented in PV systems and, accordingly, there is a growing demand for new PV designs and materials. In particular, in order to install a PV module in a building, it is important to reduce the weight of the module. The PV module in which low-iron, tempered glass is applied to the front surface, which is generally used, has excellent electrical output and reliability characteristics; however, it is heavy. In order to reduce the weight of the PV module, it is necessary to use a film or plastic-based material, as opposed to low-iron, tempered glass, on the front surface. However, if a material other than glass is used on the front of the PV module, various problems such as reduced electrical output and reduced reliability may occur. Therefore, in this paper, a PV module using a film instead of glass as the front surface was fabricated, and a characteristic analysis and reliability test were conducted. First, the transmittance and UV characteristics of each material were tested, and one-cell and 24-cell PV modules were fabricated and tested for electrical output and reliability. From the results, it was found that the transmittance and UV characteristics of the front material were excellent. In addition, the electrical output and reliability test results confirmed that the front-surface film was appropriate for use in a PV module.

The aligned carbon microcoils having the straight type overall geometry could be obtained using C2H2/H2 as source gases and SF6 as an incorporated additive gas under the thermal chemical vapor deposition system. Their morphologies and crystal structures were investigated and compared with the randomly grown carbon microcoils having the coil or twist type overall geometry. We could observe the enhancement of the (002) peak in XRD spectra of the aligned carbon microcoils indicating the existence of the more regular structure in the aligned carbon microcoils. The aligned carbon microcoils were formed as a bundle shape, while the randomly grown carbon microcoils were appeared as an individual shape. The systematic growth mode for the developing aspect of the aligned carbon microcoils was proposed.