• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.89-93
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• 2000

The oxidation of methane was carried out in six different configurations of plasma reactors in order to study the radical reactions inside and outside of the plasma zone and to explore the method to control them. Various radicals and reactive molecules, such as CH, $CH_{2}$, $CH_{3}$, H, and O(from $O_{2}$) were generated in the plasma. A variety of products were produced through many competing reaction pathways. Among them. partial oxidation products were usually not favored, because the intermediates leading to the partial oxidation products could be oxidized further to carbon dioxides easily. It is important to control the free radical reactions in the plasma reactor by controlling the experimental conditions so that the reactions leading to the desired products are the major pathways.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.25-25
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• 2010

The spectroscopy over a region from 3 to 17 ${\mu}m$ based on the tuneable diode lasers (TDLAS) is the most powerful technique for in situ studies of the diagnostics of small molecules. The increasing interest in small molecules especially containing carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and fluorine containing ones can be fulfilled by TDLAS at 0.0001 cm-1 resolution, because most of these compounds are infrared active. TDLAS provides a means of determining the absolute concentrations of the ground states of stable and transient molecular species, which can be employed for the time dependent studies in sub micro second scale. Information about gas temperature and population densities can also be derived from TDLAS measurements. Collisional energy transfer between the small molecules can be studied with TDLAS. Also, a variety of free radicals and molecular ions have been detected by TDLAS. Since plasmas with molecular feed gases are used in many applications, there are new applications in industrial field. Recently, the development of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) offers an attractive new option for TDLAS.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.255-255
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• 2012

DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) 박막은 높은 경도, 낮은 마찰계수, 내화학성 등의 우수한 트라이볼로지적 특성을 가지고 있기 때문에 다양한 산업분야에서 적용되고 있다. 하지만 강재에 대한 밀착력과 내열성은 단점으로 부각되어왔다. 이에 본 연구는 그런 단점을 보완하고자 PECVD(Plasmas Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) 방법으로 DLC박막에 여러 가지 첨가원소(F,N,O)를 사용하여 증착시킨 후 그에 따른 기계적 특성을 평가하였다. DLC박막의 구조는 Raman Spectra을 통해, Sp3 (like diamond) peak와 Sp2 (like graphite) peak의 혼재 여부를 분석하였고, FE-SEM을 이용하여 막의 표면 및 단면을 관찰하였다. 스크래치 테스트를 통해 DLC박막의 밀착력을 측정하였으며, 볼 온 디스크 타입의 Tribo-meter을 이용하여 마찰계수 변화를 관찰하였다. 또한 나노인덴터를 이용하여 미소경도를 측정하였다. 그 결과 첨가원소에 따라 기계적 특성이 각각 다르게 나타났으며, DLC막이 가지고 있는 장점인 여러 분야에 적용시킬 수 있는 방안을 마련하고자 하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.231.1-231.1
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• 2015

Surface energy, being an important material parameter to control its interactions with the other surfaces plays a key role in bio-related application. Carbon films are found very promising due to their characteristics such as wear and corrosion resistant, high hardness, inert, low resistivity and biocompatibility. The present work deals with the deposition of carbon films using unbalanced facing target magnetron sputtering technique. The discharge characteristics were studied using optical emission spectroscopy and correlated with the film properties. Surface energy was investigated through contact angle measurement. The ID/IG ratio as calculated from Raman spectroscopy data increases with the increase in power density due to the higher number of sp2 clusters embedded in the amorphous matrix. The deposited films were smooth and homogeneous as observed by Atomic force microscopy having RMS roughness in the range of 1.74 to 2.25 nm. It is observed that electrical resistivity and surface energy varies in direct proportionality with operating pressure and has inverse relation with power density. The surface energy results clearly exhibited that these films can have promising applications in cell cultivation.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.135-140
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• 2015

Decomposition of carbon dioxide is studied using $Ar/CO_2$ mixture inductively coupled plasmas (ICP). Argon gas was added to generate plasma which has high electron density. To measure decomposition rate of $CO_2$, optical emission actinometry is used. Changing input power, pressure and mixture ratio, the plasma parameters and the spectrum intensity were measured using single Langmuir probe and spectroscope. The source characteristic of Carbon dioxide ICP observed from the obtained plasma parameters. The decomposition rate is evolved depending on the reaction and discharge mode. This result is analyzed with both the measurement of the plasma parameters and the dissociation mechanism of $CO_2$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.225-225
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• 2012

DLC (Diamind-Like Carbon) 코팅은 1970년대 이온주입기술을 통하여 개발된 것이 처음으로 알려져 있으며, 다이아몬드 구조인 SP3 구조와 그라파이트 구조인 SP2 구조가 혼재되어 있으면서 제조 방법에 따라 수소와 Si 및 다양한 금속을 내재시킬 수 있는 코팅 물질이다. DLC는 높은 경도, 내마모성, 윤활성, 표면조도 등 뛰어난 기계적 특성과 전기절연성, 화학적 안정성 그리고 높은 광학적 투과성을 가져 산업적 활용 잠재력이 높은 재료로 평가되고 있으며, 이외에도 낮은 공정 온도에서 증착할 수 있고, 고경도와 낮은 마찰계수를 가지고 있는 장점이 있다. 그러나, DLC가 열적으로 불안정하기 때문에 사용되는 환경이 $500^{\circ}C$ 이상이 되면 DLC는 자체의 성질을 잃고 거의 흑연에 가까운 물질이 되어버리는 문제가 있고, 또한 높은 압축응력과 기재와의 낮은 밀착력이 단점으로 나타나고 있다. 이에 본 연구는 그런 단점을 보완하고자 PECVD (Plasmas Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) 방법으로 DLC박막에 여러 가지 첨가원소(F,Si,0)를 사용하여 증착시킨 후 400, 500, $600^{\circ}C$에서 1시간동안 열처리를 진행하였으며, 그에 따른 내열 특성을 평가하였다. 또한 염수분무 테스트를 통한 박막의 내식 특성을 평가하였다. DLC박막의 구조는 Raman Spectra을 통해, Sp3 (like diamond) peak와 Sp2 (like graphite) peak 의 혼재 여부를 분석하였고, FE-SEM을 이용하여 막의 표면 및 단면을 관찰하였다. 스크래치 테스트를 통해 DLC박막의 밀착력을 측정하였으며, 볼 온 디스크 타입의 Tribo-meter을 이용하여 마찰계수 변화를 관찰하였다. 또한 나노인덴터를 이용하여 미소경도를 측정하였다. 그 결과 일반 DLC 막에 비해 첨가원소가 함유된 DLC 박막에서 내식성 및 내열특성이 향상되었다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.17-18
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• 2011

Plasma in liquid phase has attracted great attention in the last few years by the wide domain of applications in material processing, decomposition of organic and inorganic chemical compounds and sterilization of water. The plasma in liquid is characterized by three main regions which interact each - other during the plasma operation: the liquid phase, which supply the plasma gas phase with various chemical compounds and ions, the plasma in the gas phase at atmospheric pressure and the interface between these two regions. The most complex region, but extremely interesting from the fundamental, chemical and physical processes which occur here, is the boundary between the liquid phase and the plasma gas phase. In our laboratory, plasma in liquid which behaves as a glow discharge type, is generated by using a bipolar pulsed power supply, with variable pulse width, in the range of 0.5~10 ${\mu}s$ and 10 to 30 kHz repetition rate. Plasma in water and other different solutions was characterized by electrical and optical measurements. Strong emissions of OH and H radicals dominate the optical spectra. Generally water with 500 ${\mu}S/cm$ conductivity has a breakdown voltage around 2 kV, depending on the pulse width and the repetition rate of the power supply. The characteristics of the plasma initiated in ultrapure water between pairs of different materials used for electrodes (W and Ta) were investigated by the time-resolved optical emission and the broad-band absorption spectroscopy. The deexcitation processes of the reactive species formed in the water plasma depend on the electrode material, but have been independent on the polarity of the applied voltage pulses. Recently, Coherent anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy method was employed to investigate the chemistry in the liquid phase and at the interface between the gas and the liquid phases of the solution plasma system. The use of the solution plasma allows rapid fabrication of the metal nanoparticles without being necessary the addition of different reducing agents, because plasma in the liquid phase provides a reaction field with a highly excited energy radicals. We successfully synthesized gold nanoparticles using a glow discharge in aqueous solution. Nanoparticles with an average size of less than 10 nm were obtained using chlorauric acid solutions as the metal source. Carbon/Pt hybrid nanostructures have been obtained by treating carbon balls, synthesized in a CVD chamber, with hexachloro- platinum acid in a solution plasma system. The solution plasma was successfully used to remove the template remained after the mesoporous silica synthesis. Surface functionalization of the carbon structures and the silica surface with different chemical groups and nanoparticles, was also performed by processing these materials in the liquid plasma.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.137-141
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• 2006

Process window for infinite etch selectivity of silicon nitride $(Si_3N_4)$ layers to ArF photoresist (PR) was investigated in dual frequency superimposed capacitive coupled plasma (DFS-CCP) by varying the process parameters such as low frequency power $(P_{LF})$, $CH_2F_2$ and $H_2$ flow rate in $CH_2F_2/H_2/Ar$ plasma. It was found that infinite etch selectivities of $Si_3N_4$ layers to the ArF PR on both blanket and patterned wafers can be obtained for certain gas flow conditions. The etch selectivity was increased to the infinite values as the $CH_2F_2$ flow rate increases, while it was decreased from the infinite etch selectivity as the $H_2$ flow rate increased. The preferential chemical reaction of the hydrogen with the carbon in the polymer film and the nitrogen on the $Si_3N_4$ surface leading to the formation of HCN etch by-products results in a thinner steady-state polymer and, in turn, to continuous $Si_3N_4$ etching, due to enhanced $SiF_4$ formation, while the polymer was deposited on the ArF photoresist surface.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.448-448
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• 2010

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) has made a prominent progress in memory performance and has brought a bright prospect for the next generation nonvolatile memory technologies due to its excellent advantages. Dry etching process of magnetic thin films is one of the important issues for the magnetic devices such as magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJs) based MRAM. CoFeB is a well-known soft ferromagnetic material, of particular interest for magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) and other devices based on tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR), such as spin-transfer-torque MRAM. One particular example is the CoFeB - MgO - CoFeB system, which has already been integrated in MRAM. In all of these applications, knowledge of control over the etching properties of CoFeB is crucial. Recently, transferring the pattern by using milling is a commonly used, although the redeposition of back-sputtered etch products on the sidewalls and the low etch rate of this method are main disadvantages. So the other method which has reported about much higher etch rates of >$50{\AA}/s$ for magnetic multi-layer structures using $Cl_2$/Ar plasmas is proposed. However, the chlorinated etch residues on the sidewalls of the etched features tend to severely corrode the magnetic material. Besides avoiding corrosion, during etching facets format the sidewalls of the mask due to physical sputtering of the mask material. Therefore, in this work, magnetic material such as CoFeB was etched in an ICP etching system using the gases which can be expected to form volatile metallo-organic compounds. As the gases, carbon monoxide (CO) and ammonia ($NH_3$) were used as etching gases to form carbonyl volatiles, and the etched features of CoFeB thin films under by Ta masking material were observed with electron microscopy to confirm etched resolution. And the etch conditions such as bias power, gas combination flow, process pressure, and source power were varied to find out and control the properties of magnetic layer during the process.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.458-458
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• 2010

The process window for the etch selectivity of silicon nitride ($Si_3N_4$) layers to extreme ultra-violet (EUV) resist and variation of line edge roughness (LER) of EUV resist were investigated durin getching of $Si_3N_4$/EUV resist structure in a dual-frequency superimposed capacitive coupled plasma (DFS-CCP) etcher by varying the process parameters, such as the $CH_2F_2$ and $N_2$ gas flow rate in $CH_2F_2/N_2$/Ar plasma. The $CH_2F_2$ and $N_2$ flow rate was found to play a critical role in determining the process window for infinite etch selectivity of $Si_3N_4$/EUV resist, due to disproportionate changes in the degree of polymerization on $Si_3N_4$ and EUV resist surfaces. The preferential chemical reaction between hydrogen and carbon in the hydrofluorocarbon ($CH_xF_y$) polymer layer and the nitrogen and oxygen on the $Si_3N_4$, presumably leading to the formation of HCN, CO, and $CO_2$ etch by-products, results in a smaller steady-state hydrofluorocarbon thickness on $Si_3N_4$ and, in turn, in continuous $Si_3N_4$ etching due to enhanced $SiF_4$ formation, while the $CH_xF_y$ layer is deposited on the EUV resist surface. Also critical dimension (and line edge roughness) tend to decrease with increasing $N_2$ flow rate due to decreased degree of polymerization.