In this study, the degree of alignment of polymer microfibers produced by electrospinning using a rotating water collector was evaluated. Aligned micro- and nano-fibers are required in various practical applications involving anisotropic properties. The degree of fiber alignment has many significant effects; hence, and accurate quantitative analysis of fiber alignment is necessary. Therefore, this study developed a simple and efficient method based on two-dimensional fast Fourier transform, followed by ellipse fitting. As a demonstrative example, the polymer microfibers were electrospun on the rotating water collector as the alignment of microfibers can be easily controlled. The analysis shows that the flow velocity of the liquid collector significantly affects the electrospun microfiber alignment, that is, the higher the flow velocity of the liquid collector, the greater is the degree of microfiber alignment. This method can be used for analyzing the fiber alignment in various fields such as smart sensors, fibers, composites, and textile engineering.

The optimization of the specifications of vertical silicon on insulator (SOI) slot optical waveguides suitable for integrated-optical biochemical sensors was performed through computational analysis of the confinement factor of the guided mode distributed in the slot in addition to analytical examination of the TE mode. The optimized specifications were confirmed based on sensitivity in terms of the change in the refractive index of the biochemical analyte. When the slot width, rail width, and height were set to 120 nm, 200 nm, and 320 nm, respectively, the confinement factor was evaluated to be about 56% and the sensitivity was at least 0.9 [RIU/nm].

Numerical analysis was performed using FIMMWAVE to optimize the specifications of Si₃N₄/SiO₂ slot and ridge-slot optical waveguides based on confinement factor and effective mode area. The optimized specifications were confirmed based on sensitivity in terms of the refractive index of the analyte. The specifications of the slot optical waveguide, i.e., the width of the slot and the width and height of the rails, were optimized to 0.2 ㎛, 0.46 ㎛, and 0.5 ㎛ respectively. When the wavelength was 1.55 ㎛ and the refractive index of the slot was 1.3, the confinement factor and effective mode area of 0.2024 and 2.04 ㎛², respectively, were obtained based on the optimized specifications. The thickness of the ridge and the refractive index of the slot were set to 0.04 ㎛ and 1.1, respectively, to optimize the ridge-slot optical waveguide, and the confinement factor and effective mode area were calculated as 0.1393 and 2.90 ㎛², respectively. When the confinement coefficient and detection degree of the two structures were compared in the range of 1 to 1.3 of the analyte index, it was observed that the confinement coefficient and sensitivity were higher in the ridge-slot optical waveguide in the region with a refractive index less than 1.133, but the reverse situation occurred in the other region. Therefore, in the implementation of the integrated optical biochemical sensor, it is possible to propose a selection criterion for the two parameters depending on the value of the refractive index of the analyte.

During the manufacture of a ZnS lens with excellent transmittance in the mid-infrared region (3-5 ㎛) by the hot-press process, a single-layer sintering method is used in which one lens is manufactured in one process. Additional research is required to improve this single-layer sintering method because of its low manufacturing efficiency. To solve this problem, the variation in optical properties of ZnS lenses with change in sintering temperature was investigated by introducing a Stack sintering method that can sinter multiple lenses simultaneously. A carbon paper was placed between the molded lenses and sintered into five layers. The average permeability of 67% at medium infrared wavelengths of 3-5 ㎛ was excellent under the following sintering conditions: pressure of 50 MPa and temperature of 850℃. This value is 1% less than the average permeability in the case of single-layer sintering of the ZnS lens. It was confirmed that the stack sintering method developed in this study can be used to manufacture a large number of lenses with excellent characteristics in a single process.

RAS(Recirculating aquaculture system) 방식 또는 바이오플락 기술를 사용한 흰다리 새우의 육상 양식을 통해서 새우 개체의 생존율과 고밀도 생산율을 향상시키기 위한 양식의 원리 및 장치 구성, 국내외 수질 모니터링 센서, 현재의 양식 모니터링 시스템의 문제점 파악 및 미래의 양식 모니터링을 위한 대책을 분석 하였다. 흰다리 새우 양식을 위해서는 수조별 온도, pH, DO, 염도 측정이 기본적으로 필요하며, 암모니아성 질소, 질산성 질소, 아질산성 질소, 생장 관리를 위한 이온성 물질의 측정이 필요하다. 특히 센서재질에 있어서는 SUS304도 부식이 되는 고염도 환경에서 견딜수 있어야 하며, 고탁도 및 부유물질에 의한 생물 부착에 견딜 수 있는 센서가 사용되어야 한다. 또한 내구성 및 측정값 신뢰도, 가격 경쟁력 있는 센서 및 시스템 공급이 필요하다. 바이오플락 양식 환경에서는 고염분, 고부유물 환경에서 견딜 수 있는 센서의 내구성과 데이터 안정성, 신뢰도가 무엇보다 중요하다. 향후 흰다리 새우 및 수산 양식을 위한 최적 양식환경을 확보하기 위해서는 양식 생육 환경 현장의 수질을 측정하고 적정 환경을 결정하며, 자동제어 시스템을 이용하여 제어하고 축적된 데이터를 활용 및 분석하여 지능적으로 관리하는 기술을 개발하는 것이 필요하다.

The objective of this study was to fabricate a novel hydrophobic stent for reducing restenosis by employing electron beam equipment. The stent was fabricated from a CoCr alloy tube by using a femtosecond laser and was treated with argon plasma. Subsequently, the stent's surface specification changed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. Application of the electron beam offers several advantages such as a short processing time, whole surface reforming, and enhancement of material properties. As the surface of the stent was rendered hydrophobic, it can provide equivalent or enhanced mechanical properties and greater functionality with a higher radial force at the extended stent in a blood vessel. The obtained results corresponding to the mechanical properties indicate that the contact angle increased to approximately 130°, and the radial force increased to approximately 3 N. Furthermore, cell culture experiments were conducted for verifying whether cells were cultured on the surface-modified CoCr surface. Based on the obtained results, it is believed that an effective reduction in the restenosis of inserted vascular stents is possible.

As the rising attention to the medical and healthcare issue, Bio-MEMS (Micro electro mechanical systems) platform such as bio sensor, cell culture system, and microfluidics device has been studied extensively. Bio-MEMS platform mostly has high resolution structure made by biocompatible material such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). In addition, three dimension structure has been applied to the bio-MEMS. Lithography can be used to fabricate complex structure by multiple process, however, non-rectangular cross section can be implemented by introducing optical apparatus to lithography technic. X-ray lithography can be used even for sub-micron scale. Here in, we demonstrated lines with round shape cross section using the tilted gold absorber which was deposited on the oblique structure as the X-ray mask. This structure was used as a mold for PDMS. Molded PDMS was applied to the cell culture platform. Moreover, molded PDMS was bonded to flat PDMS to utilize to the sub-micro channel. This work has potential to the large area bio-MEMS.

In this paper, methods for improving the sensitivity of gas sensors to NO₂ gas are presented. A gas sensor was fabricated based on an SnO₂ nanowire network using the vapor-phase-growth method. In the gas sensor, the Au electrode was replaced with a fluorinedoped tin oxide (FTO) electrode, to achieve high sensitivity at low temperatures and concentrations. The gas sensor with the FTO electrode was more sensitive to NO₂ gas than the sensor with the Au electrode: notably, both sensors were based on typical SnO₂ nanowire network. When the Au electrode was replaced by the FTO electrode, the sensitivity improved, as the contact resistance decreased and the surface-to-volume ratio increased. The morphological features of the fabricated gas sensor were characterized in detail via field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis.

Interest in healthcare and wearable devices has been increasing recently. A strain sensor is required in various wearable devices. With respect to such devices, studies on resistance changes in strain sensors using flexible materials are in progress. However, the resistance of the rest area in a strain sensor should not change according to the applied strain. So, an electrode with resistance to stretching, bending, and torsion is required in such strain sensors. Tension, bending, and torsion can be realized through structural shape control, rather than by using flexible materials. Further, such an electrode that maintains electrical properties has been developed and manufactured. This electrode can be used in various applications such as foldable devices, e-papers, batteries, and multifunctional wearable devices.

Herein, we propose a functional polymer cantilever to enhance maturation and contractile force of cardiomyocytes. The proposed cantilever consists of a surface-patterned polymer substrate and silver nanowires (AgNWs). The AgNWs are transferred to the PDMS substrate using conventional molding techniques. This thin metallic surface significantly improves the adhesion of cardiomyocyte on the surface-patterned PDMS with the hydrophobic characteristics. In addition, the use of AgNWs improves the visibility of the conducting PDMS substrate for the observation of cardiomyocyte through an inverted microscope. The AgNWs also assist in synchronizing each cardiomyocyte to maximize its contractile force.