• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.318-326
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• 2011

This study has been performed to investigate the effect of Al addition on High Temperature Gas Nitriding (HTGN) in 13%Cr-0.16%C stainless steel with different Al contents of 0.54%, 1.76% and 2.36%, respectively. HTGN treatment was carried out at $1100^{\circ}C$ for 1 hr, 5 hrs and 10 hrs. Nitrogen-permeated surface layers showed round type carbides of $Cr_{23}C_6$ and needle type nitrides of AlN in the matrix of martensite, representing 600~700 Hv. And the thickness of the surface layer increased with increasing Al content and HTGN treatment time. The inner region that was not permeated nitrogen showed chromium carbides in the mixed phase of martensite and ferrite for the 0.53% Al alloyed steel, however chromium carbides in the matrix of ferrite single phase were shown for the steels with the addition of 1.76%Al and 2.36%Al, representing the hardness of ~200 Hv. During nitrogen permeation from surface to the interior, substitutional elements of Cr, Al and Si moved toward the surface and interstitial element of carbon also moved from interior to the surface. This movement of alloying elements leads high concentration of these elements at the outmost surface, subsequently the lowest peak of substitutional elements were shown in the vicinity of near surface. After showing the lowest peak, the high concentration region of Al and C were formed due to the continuous movement of Al toward the surface. The long discontinuous precipitates of $Cr_{23}C_6$ and AlN were formed along the outmost surface owing to the high concentration of these alloying elements.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.435-440
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• 2023

This study aimed to enhance the thermal conductivity of B₄C/Al composite materials, commonly used in transport/storage containers for spent nuclear fuel, by incorporating both boron carbide (B₄C) and cubic boron nitride(cBN) as reinforcing agents in an aluminum (Al) matrix. The composite materials were successfully manufactured through a stir casting process and practical neutron-absorbing materials were obtained by rolling the fabricated composite ingot. The evaluation of the thermal conductivity of the fabricated composites was carried out because thermal conductivity is critical for neutron absorbing materials. The thermal conductivity measurement results indicated an approximately 3% increase in thermal conductivity under the same volume fraction when compared to composite materials using only B₄C particles. Through neutron absorption cross-sectional area calculations, it was confirmed that the neutron absorption capability decreased to a negligible level. Based on the findings of this study, new design approaches for neutron absorption materials are proposed, contributing to the development of high-performance transport/storage containers.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.33-38
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• 2021

Recently, rollable and foldable displays are attracting great attention in the flexible display market due to their excellent form factor. To predict and prevent the mechanical failure of the display panels, it is essential to accurately understand the mechanical properties of brittle SiN_x thin films, which have been used as an insulating film in flexible displays. In this study, tensile properties of the ~130 nm- and ~320 nm-thick SiN_x thin films were successfully measured by coating a ~190 nm-thick organic nano-support-layer (PMMA, PS, P3HT) on the fragile SiN_x thin films and stretching the films as a bilayer state. Young's modulus values of the ~130 nm and ~320 nm SiN_x thin films fabricated through the controlled chamber pressure and deposition power (A: 1250 mTorr, 450 W/B: 1000 mTorr, 600 W/C: 750 mTorr, 700 W) were calculated as A: 76.6±3.5, B: 85.8±4.6, C: 117.4±6.5 GPa and A: 100.1±12.9, B: 117.9±9.7, C: 159.6 GPa, respectively. As a result, Young's modulus of ~320 nm SiN_x thin films fabricated through the same deposition condition increased compared to the ~130 nm SiN_x thin films. The tensile testing method using the organic nano-support-layer was effective in the precise measurement of the mechanical properties of the brittle thin films. The method developed in this study can contribute to the robust design of the rollable and foldable displays by enabling quantitative measurement of mechanical properties of fragile thin films for flexible displays.