• Journal of Ceramic Processing Research
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• v.13 no.spc2
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• pp.341-345
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• 2012

[Li0.055(K0.5Na0.5)0.945](Nb1-xTax)O3 (0.05 ≤ x ≤ 0.25) ceramics were prepared by the partial sol-gel (PSG) method to improve the microstructure homogeneity of Ta5+ ion and were compared to those prepared by the conventional mixed oxide (CMO) method. For the PSG method, Ta(OC2H5)5 was directly reacted with calcined [Li0.055(K0.5Na0.5)0.945]NbO3 powders and the specimens sintered at 1100 ℃ for 5 hrs showed a single phase with a perovskite structure. Compared to the specimens prepared by conventional mixed oxide powders, the relative ratio of tetragonal phase to orthorhombic phase of the sintered specimens prepared by Ta(OC2H5)5 was larger than that of the sintered specimens prepared by Ta2O5. The electromechanical coupling factor (kp), piezoelectric constant (d33) and dielectric constant (εr) of the sintered specimens were increased with Ta5+ content. These results could be attributed to the decrease of the orthorhombic-tetragonal polymorphic phase transition temperature (To-t), which could be evaluated by oxygen octahedral distortion. Strain of the sintered specimens prepared by the PSG method was higher than that of specimens prepared by the CMO method due to the increase of relative density. The effects of crystal structure on the strain characteristics of the specimens were also discussed.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.249-254
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• 2023

The influence of MgO addition on the densification and microstructure of alumina (Al₂O₃) was studied. Compacted alumina specimens were manufactured using ball-milling and one-directional pressing followed by sintering at temperatures below 1700℃. Relative density, shrinkage, hardness, and microstructure were investigated using analytical tools such as FE-SEM, EDS, and XRD. When the MgO was added up to 5.0 wt% and sintered at 1500℃ and 1600℃, the relative density exhibited an average value of 97% or more at both temperatures. The maximum density of 99.2% was with the addition of 0.5 wt% MgO at 1500℃. Meanwhile, the specimens showed significantly lower density values when sintered at 1400℃ than at 1500℃ and 1600℃ owing to the relatively low sintering temperature. The hardness and shrinkage data also showed a similar trend in the change in density, implying that the addition of approximately 0.5 wt% MgO can promote the densification of Al₂O₃. Studying the microstructure confirmed the uniformity of the sintered alumina. These results can be used as basic compositional data for the development of MgO-containing alumina as high-dielectric insulators.

• Composites Research
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.247-264
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• 2024

Recent advances in electro-active polymer (EAP) actuators, owing to their flexibility, lightweight, and simple fabrication process, have showcased their high utility across various fields such as soft robotics, biomimetics, wearable devices, and haptic technologies. Moreover, EAP actuators are evolving into smart devices with new functions and characteristics through the integration of functional materials and innovative technologies. This paper categorizes EAPs into ionic EAPs and electronic EAPs. Ionic EAPs include, most notably, ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) and conducting polymers (CPs), while electronic EAPs encompass dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs), ferroelectric polymer actuators, and the recently introduced hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic (HASEL) actuators. Detailed explanations based on the latest research are provided concerning the mechanism, structure, performance improvement strategies, methods for adding functionality, and application areas for each type of actuator.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.188.2-188.2
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• 2015

The presence of the conduction interface in epitaxial $LaAlO_3/SrTiO_3$ thin films has opened up challenging applications which can be expanded to next-generation nano-electronics. The metallic conduction path is associated with two adjacent insulating materials. Such device structure is applicable to frequency-dependent impedance spectroscopy. Impedance spectroscopy allows for simultaneous measurement of resistivity and dielectric constants, systematic identification of the underlying electrical origins, and the estimation of the electrical homogeneity in the corresponding electrical origins. Such unique capability is combined with the intentional control on the interface composition composed of $SrTiO_3$ and $CaTiO_3$, which can be denoted by $SrxCa1-_xTiO_3$. The underlying $Sr_xCa1-_xTiO_3$ interface was deposited using pulsed-laser deposition, followed by the epitaxial $LaAlO_3$ thin films. The platinum electrodes were constructed using metal shadow masks, in order to accommodate 2-point electrode configuration. Impedance spectroscopy was performed as the function of the relative ratio of Sr to Ca. The respective impedance spectra were analyzed in terms of the equivalent circuit models. Furthermore, the impedance spectra were monitored as a function of temperature. The ac-based characterization in the 2-dimensional conduction path supplements the dc-based electrical analysis. The artificial manipulation of the interface composition will be discussed towards the electrical application of 2-dimensional materials to the semiconductor devices in replacement for the current Si-based devices.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2004.07b
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• pp.611-614
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• 2004

[ $Ba(Zn_{1/3}Nb_{2/3})O_3$ ] (BZN) 세라믹스의 소결 온도는 약 $1350^{\circ}C$ 이다. 그러나 $B_2O_3$가 첨가된 경우, BZN 세라믹스는 $900^{\circ}C$에서 소결되었다. $BaB_4O_7$, $BaB_2O_4$ 그리고 $BaNb_2O_6$ 이차상이 $B_2O_3$가 첨가된 BZN 세라믹스에서 관찰되었다. $BaB_4O_7$과 $BaB_2O_4$ 이차상은 약 $900^{\circ}C$에서 공정 온도를 가지기 때문에 $B_2O_3$를 첨가한 BZN 세라믹스론 $900^{\circ}C$에서 소결하는 동안 액상으로 존재할 것으로 여겨지며, 그것이 BZN 세라믹스의 소결온도를 낮출 것으로 생각된다. 소결 온도의 증가에 따라 유전 상수 ($\varepsilon_r$)와 품질 계수 ($Q{\times}f$)의 값은 증가하였는데, 이는 밀도의 증가에 기인한다. 그러나 $B_2O_3$의 첨가량이 많은 경우 Q 값은 감소하는데, 이는 이차상의 존재가 품질계수의 저하를 초래한다고 생각된다. 2.0 mol% $B_2O_3$가 첨가된 BZN 세라믹스를 $950^{\circ}C$에서 2시간 동안 소결하는 경우, $Q{\times}f$=13.600 GHz, $\varepsilon_r$=37.6 그리고 공진 주파수 온도계수 ($\tau_f$) = 19 ppm/$^{\circ}C$의 유전특성을 얻을 수 있었다.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2008

In this paper, the front end module (FEM) was proposed for 2.4GHz WLAN band by LTCC multilayer application. The FEM was composed of power amplifier IC, switch IC, and LTCC module. LTCC module consists of output matching circuit and lowpass filter as Tx part, bandpass filter as Rx part. Design of output matching circuit for LTCC was used matching parameter from output matching circuit based on lumped circuit on the PCB board. The dielectric constant of LTCC substrate is 9. The substrate was composed of total 26 layers with each 30um thickness. Ag paste was used for the internal pattern as the conductor material. The size of the module is $4.5mm{\times}3.2mm{\times}1.4mm$. The fabricated FEM showed the gain of 21dB, ACPR of less than -31dBc first side lobe and Less than -59dBc second side lobe and the output power of 23Bm at P1dB.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.198-202
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• 2009

For use in ultrasonic actuators, we investigated the structural and piezoelectric properties of $(1\;-\;x)Pb(Zr_{0.515}Ti_{0.485})O_3$ - $xPb(Sb_{1/2}Nb_{1/2})O_3$ + 0.5 wt% $MnO_2$ [(1 - x)PZT - xPSN + $MnO_2$] ceramics with a variation of x (x = 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08). All the ceramics, which were sintered at $1250^{\circ}C$ for 2 h, showed a typical perovskite structure, implying that they were well synthesized. A homogeneous micro structure was also developed for the specimens, and their average grain size was slightly decreased to $1.3{\mu}m$ by increasing x to 0.8. Moreover, a second phase with a pyrochlore structure appeared when x was above 0.06, which resulted in the deterioration of their piezoelectric properties. However, the 0.96PZT-0.04PSN+$MnO_2$ ceramics, which corresponds with a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) composition in the (1 - x)PZT - xPSN + $MnO_2$ system, exhibited good piezoelectric properties: a piezoelectric constant ($d_{33}$) of 325 pC/N, an electromechanical coupling factor ($k_p$) of 70.8%, and a mechanical quality factor ($Q_m$) of 1779. The specimens with a relatively high curie temperature ($T_c$) of $305^{\circ}C$ also showed a significantly high dielectric constant (${\varepsilon}_r$) value of 1109. Therefore, the 0.96PZT - 0.04PSN + $MnO_2$ ceramics are suitable for use in ultrasonic vibrators.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.560-565
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• 2008

$(Pb_{0.98}La_{0.08})(Zr_{0.65}Ti_{0.35})O_3$ (PLZT) thin films with $TiO_2$ buffer layers were deposited on Pt/Ti/$SiO_2$/Si substrates by an R.F. magnetron sputtering method in order to improve the ferroelectric characteristics of the films. And the ferroelectric properties and crystallinities of the PLZT thin films were investigated in terms of the effects of the post annealing temperatures of $TiO_2$ buffer layers between a platinum bottom electrode and PLZT thin film. The ferroelectric properties of the PLZT thin films improved as increasing of the post annealing temperatures of $TiO_2$ layers, thereby reaching their maximum at $600^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.8 no.10
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• pp.961-968
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• 1998

In order to investigate the effects of substrate bias voltage on the formation of$ZnS-SiO_2$ protective film in phase change optical disk by R.F. magnetron sputtering method, thin dielectric film was formed on Si wafer and Corning glass by using ZnS(80mol%)-$SiO_2$(20mol%)t arget under argon gas. In this study, the Taguchi experimental method was applied in order to obtain optimum conditions with reduced number of experiments and to control numerous variables effectively. At the same time this method can assure the reproducibility of experiments. Optimum conditions for film formation obtained by above method were target RF power of 200 W. substrate RF power of 20 W, Ar pressure of 5 mTorr. sputtering time of 20 min.. respectively. The phase of specimen was determined by using XRD and TEM. The compositional analysis of specimen was performed by XPS test. In order to measure the thermal resistivity of deposited specimen, annealing test was carried out at $300^{\circ}C$ and $600^{\circ}C$. For the account of void fraction in thin film, the Bruggeman EMA(Effective Medium Approximation) method was applied using the optical data obtained by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry. According to the results of this work, the existence of strong interaction between bias voltage and sputtering time was confirmed for refractive index value. According to XRD and TEM analysis of specimen, the film structure formed in bias voltage resulted in more refined structures than that formed without bias voltage. But excess bias voltage resulted in grain growth in thin film. It was confirmed that the application of optimum bias voltage increased film density by reduction of void fraction of about 3.7%.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.9 no.12
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• pp.1245-1251
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• 1999

Phase-change optical disk very rapid recording, high densification of data, resulting in high feedback rate and good C/N(carrier to noise) ratio of a feedback signal. However, repetitive thermal energy may cause the deformation of a disk or the lowering of an eliminability and a cyclability of the recording. The lowering of the cyclability can be reduced by insertion of thin layer of ZnS-$SiO_2$ dielectric thin film in appropriate disk structure between the upper and lower part of the recording film. Using the Taguchi method, optimum conditions satisfying both the optimized quality characteristic values and the scattering values for film formation were found to be the target R.F. power of 200W, the substrate R.F. power of 20W, the Ar pressure of 6mTorr, and the electrode distance of 6cm. From the refractive index data, the existence of the strong interaction between the electrode distance and Ar pressure was confirmed, and so was the large effect of the electrode distance on transmittance. According to the analysis of TEM and XRD, the closer the electrode distance was, the finer was the grain size due to the high deposition rate. However, the closer electrode distance brought the negative effect on the morphology of the film and caused the reduction of transmittance. AFM and SEM analyses showed that the closer the electrode distance was, the worse was the morphology due to the high rate of the deposition. Under optimum condition, the deposited thin film showed a good morphology and dense microstructure with less defects.