• Applied Microscopy
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.176-186
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• 2017

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have been studied widely owing to their outstanding properties since monolayer graphene was isolated in 2004. Especially, among 2D materials, phosphorene, a single atomic layer of black phosphorus (BP), has been highlighted for its electrical properties. This material can serve as a substitute for graphene, which has been revealed as a "semi-metal", in next-generation semiconductors. However, few-layer BP is prone to degradation under ambient conditions owing to its reactivity with oxygen and water, which results in the condensation of water droplets on the surface of the BP flakes. This causes charge transfer from the phosphorus atom to oxygen, resulting in the formation of phosphoric acid (oxide) and degrades the various properties of BP. Therefore, it is necessary to find passivation methods to prevent BP flakes from being degraded under ambient conditions. This review article deals with recent studies on passivation methods for BP and their performance against oxygen and water, effects on the electrical properties of BP, and the extent to how they protect BP.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2018

Barium titanate ($BaTiO_3$) nanoparticle is one of the most promising materials for future multi-layer ceramic capacitor and ferroelectric random access memory. It is well known that electrical property of nanoparticles depends on the atomistic structure. Although surface may possibly have an impact on the atomistic structure, reconstructed structure at the surface has not been widely investigated. In the present study, Ba-ion position near surface in a $BaTiO_3$ nanoparticle has been quantitatively characterized by scanning transmission electron microscopy. It was found that some Ba ions at the surface were greatly displaced in non-uniform directions.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.89-94
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• 2015

This article briefly reviews the results of recently reported research on high-temperature Pb-free solder alloys and the research trend for characterization of the interfacial reaction layer. To improve the product reliability of high-temperature Pb-free solder alloys, thorough research is necessary not only to enhance the alloy properties but also to characterize and understand the interfacial reaction occurring during and after the bonding process. Transmission electron microscopy analysis is expected to play an important role in the development of high-temperature solders by providing accurate and reliable data with a high spatial resolution and facilitating understanding of the interfacial reaction at the solder joint.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.470-477
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• 2017

Ceramic processing to fabricate 3D complex ceramic structures is crucial for structural, energy, environmental, and biomedical applications. A unique process is ceramic stereolithography, which builds ceramic green objects from CAD files from many thin liquid layers of powder in monomer, which are solidified by polymerization with a UV laser, thereby "writing" the design for each slice. This approach directly writes layers in liquid ceramic suspension and allows one to fabricate ceramic parts and products having more accurate, complex geometries and smooth surfaces. In this paper, both UV curable materials and processes are presented. We focus on the basic material principles associated with free radical polymerization and rheological behavior, cure depth and broadening of cured lines, scattering at ceramic interface and their corresponding simulation. The immediate potentials for ceramic AM to change industry fabrication are also highlighted.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.201-205
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• 2016

Functional surfaces in nature have been continuously observed because of their ability to adapt to the environment. To this end, methods such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been widely used, and their wetting functions have been characterized via environmental SEM. We investigated the superhydrophobic hairy leaves of Pelargonium tomentosum, i.e., peppermint-scented geranium. Their surface features and wettability were studied at multiple-scales, i.e., macro-, micro-, and sub-micro scales. The surfaces of the investigated leaves showed superhydrophobicity at the macro-, and micro-scales. The wetting or condensing behavior was studied for molecule-size water vapors, which easily adhered to the hairy surface owing to their significantly lower size in comparison to that of the surface.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.151-157
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• 2012

The microstructure of various shapes of stacking fault pyramids (SFPs) formed in multiple implant/anneal Separation by Implanted Oxygen (SIMOX) material were investigated by plan-view and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. In the multiple implant/anneal SIMOX, the defects in the top silicon layer are confined at the interface of the buried oxide layer at a density of ${\sim}10^6\;cm^{-2}$. The dominant defects are perfect and imperfect SFPs. The perfect SFPs were formed by the expansion and interaction of four dissociated dislocations on the {111} pyramidal planes. The imperfect SFPs show various shapes of SFPs, including I-, L-, and Y-shapes. The shape of imperfect SFPs may depend on the number of dissociated dislocations bounded to the top of the pyramid and the interaction of Shockley partial dislocations at each edge of {111} pyramidal planes.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.65-66
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• 2006

[ $TiO_2$ ] single crystalline nanorods are prepared from electrospun fibers which are composed of nanofibrils with an island-in-a-sea morphology. The mechanical pressure produces each fibril into nanorods which are converted to anatase single crystals after calcinations. HRTEM shows that the (001) plane is growing along the longitudinal direction of the rod. In this work, the nanorod electrode provides the efficient photocurrent generation in a quasi-solid state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using highly viscous PVDF-HFP based gel electrolytes. The overall converision efficiency of the $TiO_2$ nanorods shows 6.2 % under $100\;mW/cm^2$ (AM 1.5G) illumination.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.223-227
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• 2012

Focused Ion Beam (FIB) systems have incorporated versatile nanomanipulators with inherent sophisticated machining capability to characterize the electrical properties of highly miniature components of electronic devices. Carbon fibers were chosen as a model system to test the applicability of nanomanipulators to microscale electronic materials, with special emphasis on the direct current current-voltage characterizations in terms of electrode configuration. The presence of contact resistance affects the electrical characterization. This resistance originates from either i) the so-called "spreading resistance" due to the geometrical constriction near the electrode - material interface or ii) resistive surface layers. An appropriate electrode strategy is proposed herein for the use of FIB-based manipulators.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.218-222
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• 2012

Modern aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope (TEM) with appropriate electron beam energy is able to achieve atomic resolution imaging of single and bilayer graphene sheets. Especially, atomic configuration of bilayer graphene with a rotation angle can be identified from the direct imaging and phase reconstructed imaging since atomic resolution Moir$\acute{e}$ pattern can be obtained successfully at atomic scale using an aberration-corrected TEM. This study boosts a reliable stacking order analysis, which is required for synthesized or artificially prepared multilayer graphene, and lets graphene researchers utilize the information of atomic configuration of stacked graphene layers readily.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.167-169
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• 2016

Solder/electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG) joint sample which is comprised of dissimilar materials with different mechanical properties has limited the level of success in preparing thin samples for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This short technical note reports the operation parameters for ultramicrotomy of solder joint sample and TEM analysis results. The solder joint sample was successfully sliced to 50~70 nm thick lamellae at slicing speed of 0.8~1.2 mm/s using a boat-type $45^{\circ}$ diamond knife. Ultramicrotomy can be applied as a routine sample preparation technique for TEM analysis of solder joints.