• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.13-20
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• 2023

The process of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) fabrication involves surface treatment to impart functionality to the device. Such surface treatment method is the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) technique, which modifies and functionalizes the surface of MEMS components with organic molecule monolayer, possessing a precisely controllable strength that depends on immersion time and solution concentration. These monolayers spontaneously adsorb on polymeric substrates or metal/ceramic components offering high precision at the nanoscale and modifying surface properties. SAM technology has been utilized in various fields, such as tribological property control, mass-production lithography, and ultrasensitive organic/biomolecular sensor applications. This paper provides an overview of the development and application of SAM technology in various fields.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.63-70
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• 2023

In this study, crystallization was effectively suppressed in Al-based metallic glasses (Al-MGs) during pulverization by cryo-milling by applying an extremely low processing temperature and using a surfactant. Before Al-MGs can be used as an additive in Ag paste for solar cells, the particle sizes of the Al-MGs must be reduced by milling. However, during the ball milling process crystallization of the Al-MG is a problem. Once the Al-MG is crystallized, they no longer exhibit glass-like behavior, such as thermoplastic deformation, which is critical to decrease the electrical resistance of the Ag electrode. The main reason for crystallization during the ball milling process is the heat generated by collisions between the particles and the balls, or between the particles. Once the heat reaches the crystallization temperature of the Al-MGs, they start crystallization. Another reason for the crystallization is agglomeration of the particles. If the initially fed particles become severely agglomerated, they coalesce instead of being pulverized during the milling. The coalesced particles experience more collisions and finally crystallize. In this study, the heat generated during milling was suppressed by using cryo-milling with liquid-nitrogen, which was regularly fed into the milling jar. Also, the MG powders were dispersed using a surfactant before milling, so that the problem of agglomeration was resolved. Cryo-milling with the surfactant led to D50 = 10 um after 6 h milling, and we finally achieved a specific contact resistance of 0.22 mΩcm² and electrical resistivity of 2.81 μΩcm using the milled MG particles.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.87-93
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• 2023

Electrodialysis (ED) is essential in separating ions through an ion exchange membrane. The disposal of brine generated from seawater desalination is a primary environmental concern, and its recycling through membrane separation technology is highly efficient. Alkali is produced by several chemical industries such as leather, electroplating, dyeing, and smelting, etc. A high concentration of alkali in the waste needs treatment before releasing into the environment as it is highly corrosive and has a chemical oxygen demand (COD) value. The concentration of calcium and magnesium is almost double in brine and is the perfect candidate for carbon dioxide adsorption, a major environmental pollutant. Sodium hydroxide is essential for the metal carbonation process which, is easily produced by the bipolar membrane electrodialysis process. Various strategies are available for its recovery, like reverse osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF), and ED. This review discusses the ED process by ion exchange membrane for alkali recovery are discussed.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.1-10
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• 2023

Recently, as the demand for high-performance computers and mobile products increases, semiconductor packages are becoming high-integration and high-density. Therefore, in order to transmit a large amount of data at once, micro bumps such as flip-chip and Cu pillar that can reduce bump size and pitch and increase I/O density are used. However, when the size of the bumps is smaller than 70 ㎛, the brittleness increases and electrical properties decrease due to the rapid increase of the IMC volume fraction in the solder joint, which deteriorates the reliability of the solder joint. Therefore, in order to improve these issues, a layer that serves to prevent diffusion is inserted between the UBM (Under Bump Metallization) or pillar and the solder cap. In this review paper, various studies to improve bonding properties by suppressing excessive IMC growth of micro-bumps through additional layer insertion were compared and analyzed.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.479-487
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• 2023

Copper is cost-effective and abundantly available as a biocidal coating agent for a wide range of material surfaces. Natural oxidation does not compromise the efficacy of copper, allowing it to maintain antimicrobial activity under prolonged exposure conditions. Furthermore, copper compounds exhibit a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against pathogenic yeast, both enveloped and non-enveloped types of viruses, as well as gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Contact killing of copper-coated surfaces causes the denaturation of proteins and damage to the cell membrane, leading to the release of essential components such as nucleotides and cytoplasm. Additionally, redox-active copper generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), which cause permanent cell damage through enzyme deactivation and DNA destruction. Owing to its robust stability, copper has been utilized in diverse forms, such as nanoparticles, ions, composites, and alloys, resulting in the creation of various coating methods. This mini-review describes representative coating processes involving copper ions and copper oxides on various material surfaces, highlighting the antibacterial and antiviral properties associated with different oxidation states of copper.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.24-29
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• 2024

We propose a hyperbolic metastructure based on a nanopatterned metal (Ag)-dielectric (PDMS) multilayer and report on its performance in an infrared (IR) cut-off filter for imaging devices. By optimizing the size of the square-shaped Ag nanopattern and the thickness of PDMS surrounding the Ag nanopattern, the proposed IR cut-off filter blocks 99% of light in the 0.70-1.01 ㎛ wavelength band while maintaining a high transmittance of over 94% in the visible region. Here, the cut-off wavelength band starts at a region above the epsilon-near-zero wavelength of the hyperbolic metastructure and ends at the point where plasmonic absorption appears strongly. It is observed that transmittance in the wavelength region longer than the IR cut-off band increases again due to plasmonic coupling among horizontally adjacent Ag nanopatterns. This metastructure can improve the performance of IR-blocking filters as well as allow it to be manufactured ultra-thin, which is applicable to various planar optical elements and integrated optical components.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.488-492
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• 2023

In this study, a carbon film derived from a polymer/lignin composite precursor was produced by a carbonization cycle with a controlled temperature profile. The feasibility of successful formation of the carbon film using the carbonization cycle was monitored. The adsorption behavior of the carbon film toward various molecules, such as nonpolar and polar organic molecules, and dyes was investigated using ultraviolet/visible (UV/Vis) spectroscopy compared with that of carbonized lignin. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis proved that a robust carbon film was prepared by the carbonization cycle. It was also demonstrated that the carbonized lignin and carbon film showed adsorption capability toward all types of organic molecules, in particular organic dyes, owing to the carbonized lignin. This work provides important information for future relevant research.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.134-139
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• 2024

In the steam reforming of methane reactions, the effect of adding noble metals Ru and Pd to a Ni-based catalyst as promoters was analyzed in terms of catalytic activity and hydrogen production. The synthesized catalysts were coated on the surface of a honeycomb-structured metal monolith to perform steam methane reforming reactions. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, TPR, and SEM, and after the reforming reaction, the gas composition was analyzed by GC to measure methane conversion, hydrogen yield, and CO selectivity. The addition of 0.5 wt% Ru improved the reduction properties of the Ni catalyst and exhibited enhanced catalytic activity with a methane conversion of 99.91%. In addition, reaction characteristics were analyzed according to various process conditions. Methane conversion of over 90% and hydrogen yield of more than 3.3 were achieved at a reaction temperature of 800 ℃, a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of less than 10000 h^-1, and a ratio of H₂O to CH₄ (S/C) higher than 3.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 2024

Recently, with the miniaturization and high integration of semiconductor chips, the bump bridge phenomenon caused by fine pitches is drawing attention as a problem. Accordingly, Cu pillar bump, which can minimize the bump bridge phenomenon, is widely applied in the semiconductor package industry for fine pitch applications. When exposed to a high-temperature environment, the thickness of the intermetallic compound (IMC) formed at the joint interface increases, and at the same time, Kirkendall void is formed and grown inside some IMC/Cu and IMC interfaces. Therefore, it is important to control the excessive growth of IMC and the formation and growth of Kirkendall voids because they weaken the mechanical reliability of the joints. Therefore, in this study, isothermal aging evaluation of Cu pillar bump joints with a CS (Cu+ Sn-1.8Ag Solder) structure was performed and the corresponding results was reported.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.563-575
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• 2006

Ti(C,N) films are synthesized by pulsed DC plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PEMOCVD) using metal-organic compounds of tetrakis diethylamide titanium at $200-300^{\circ}C$. To compare plasma parameter, in this study, $H_2$ and $He/H_2$ gases are used as carrier gas. The effect of $N_2\;and\;NH_3$ gases as reactive gas is also evaluated in reduction of C content of the films. Radical formation and ionization behaviors in plasma are analyzed in-situ by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) at various pulsed bias voltages and gas species. He and $H_2$ mixture is very effective in enhancing ionization of radicals, especially for the $N_2$. Ammonia $(NH_3)$ gas also highly reduces the formation of CN radical, thereby decreasing C content of Ti(C, N) films in a great deal. The microhardness of film is obtained to be $1,250\;Hk_{0.01}\;to\;1,760\;Hk_{0.01}$ depending on gas species and bias voltage. Higher hardness can be obtained under the conditions of $H_2\;and\;N_2$ gases as well as bias voltage of 600 V. Hf(C, N) films were also obtained by pulsed DC PEMOCYB from tetrakis diethyl-amide hafnium and $N_2/He-H_2$ mixture. The depositions were carried out at temperature of below $300^{\circ}C$, total chamber pressure of 1 Torr and varying the deposition parameters. Influences of the nitrogen contents in the plasma decreased the growth rate and attributed to amorphous components, to the high carbon content of the film. In XRD analysis the domain lattice plain was (111) direction and the maximum microhardness was observed to be $2,460\;Hk_{0.025}$ for a Hf(C,N) film grown under -600 V and 0.1 flow rate of nitrogen. The optical emission spectra measured during PEMOCVD processes of Hf(C, N) film growth were also discussed. $N_2,\;N_2^+$, H, He, CH, CN radicals and metal species(Hf) were detected and CH, CN radicals that make an important role of total PEMOCVD process increased carbon content.