• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.267-270
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• 2003

We have studied the interfacial diffusion phenomena and the role of ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ buffer layer as a diffusion barrier in the $Ba-ferrite/SiO_2$ magnetic thin films for high-density recording media. In the interface of amorphous Ba-ferrite ($1900-{\AA}-thick)/SiO_2$ thin film during annealing, the interfacial diffusion started to occur at ${\sim}700^{\circ}C$. As the annealing temperature increased up to $800^{\circ}C$, the interfacial diffusion abruptly proceeded resulting in the high interface roughness and the deterioration of the magnetic properties. In order to control the interfacial diffusion at the high temperature, we introduced ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ buffer layer ($110-{\AA}-thick$) in the interface of $Ba-ferrite/SiO_2$ thin film. During the annealing of $Ba-ferrite/{\alpha}-Al_2O_3/SiO_2$ thin film even at ${\sim}800^{\circ}C$, the interface was very smooth. The smooth interface of the film was also clearly shown by the cross-sectional FESEM. The magnetic properties, such as saturation magnetization 3nd intrinsic coercivity, were also enhanced, due to the inhibition of interfacial diffusion by the ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ buffer layer. Our study suggests that the ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ buffer layer act as a useful interfacial diffusion barrier in the $Ba-ferrite/SiO_2$ thin films.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.277-277
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• 2010

The capacity of the carbonaceous materials reached ca. $350\;mAhg^{-1}$ which is close to theorestical value of the carbon intercalation composition $LiC_6$, resulting in a relatively low volumetric Li capacity. Notwithstanding the capacities of carbon, it will not adjust well to the need so future devices. Silicon shows the highest gravimetric capacities (up to $4000\;mAhg^{-1}$ for $Li_{21}Si_5$). Although Si is the most promising of the next generation anodes, it undergoes a large volume change during lithium insertion and extraction. It results in pulverization of the Si and loss of electrical contact between the Si and the current collector during the lithiation and delithiation. Thus, its capacity fades rapidly during cycling. We focused on electrode materials in the multiphase form which were composed of two metal compounds to reduce the volume change in material design. A combination of electrochemically amorphous active material in an inert matrix (Si-M) has been investigated for use as negative electrode materials in lithium ion batteries. The matrix composited of Si-M alloys system that; active material (Si)-inactive material (M) with Li; M is a transition metal that does not alloy with Li with Li such as Ti, V or Mo. We fabricated and tested a broad range of Si-M compositions. The electrodes were sputter-deposited on rough Cu foil. Electrochemical, structural, and compositional characterization was performed using various techniques. The structure of Si-M alloys was investigated using X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Surface morphologies of the electrodes are observed using a field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The electrochemical properties of the electrodes are studied using the cycling test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It is found that the capacity is strongly dependent on Si content and cycle retention is also changed according to M contents. It may be beneficial to find materials with high capacity, low irreversible capacity and that do not pulverize, and that combine Si-M to improve capacity retention.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.197-197
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• 2010

본 연구에서는 RF/DC dual 마그네트론 스퍼터 시스템을 이용하여 Glass 기판 상에 유기태양전지용 Nb-doped $TiO_2$ (NTO)/Ag/NTO 다층 투명전극을 성막하고 이 다층 투명전극을 $200^{\circ}C{\sim}700^{\circ}C$ 온도 범위에서 급속 열처리 (Rapid Thermal Annealing ; RTA)를 통하여 전기적, 광학적, 구조적 및 표면의 특성 변화를 연구하였다. Hall effect measurement, UV-Vis spectrometer, FESEM 분석을 통하여 다층투명전극의 전기적, 광학적, 표면분석을 하였고 Synchrotron 분석을 통하여 온도에 따른 구조변화를 분석하였다. 상온에서 성막된 다층투명전극은 30nm 두께의 NTO 박막 사이에 얇은 9nm의 얇은 Ag 층을 삽입한 구조로써 10ohm/square 이하의 매우 낮은 면저항과 ${\sim}10^{-5}\;ohm-cm$ 의 비저항, Anti-reflection 효과에 의해 85% 이상의 높은 광투과성을 나타내었다. RTA 온도가 증가함에 따라 전기적, 광학적 특성은 약간 향상되었고 비정질 구조를 유지함을 알 수 있었다. 그러나 높은 온도범위에서는 비정질 구조에서 Anatase 상으로 결정구조가 변화함을 알 수 있었고 전기적, 광학적 특성이 감소됨을 알 수 있었다. NTO/Ag/NTO 다층 투명전극을 유기태양전의 Anode로 적용하여 특성을 비교한 결과 RTA 온도가 증가함에 따라 유기태양전지의 효율 또한 증가하였고 최적화된 온도 조건에서 2.49% 의 높은 효율을 얻을 수 있었다. 이를 통해 우수한 특성을 나타내는 NTO/Ag/NTO 다층투명전극이 기존의 디스플레이 및 태양전지 등의 투명전극 재료로 주로 사용되어 온 ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) 를 대체 할 수 있는 재료로써의 가능성을 제시하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.200.2-200.2
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• 2013

Yttrium (Y)이 도핑 된 ZnO 나노 구조물을 수열합성법으로 제작하였다. 먼저 졸겔법으로 SiO2/Si 기판 위에 seed layer (Y-doped ZnO ; Y0.02Zn0.98O)를 제작하였으며 5번의 코팅을 진행하여 박막의 두께는 약 180 nm로 측정이 되었다. 그 후 진공 분위기에서 RTA를 이용하여 $500^{\circ}C$에서 3분간 열처리가 진행되었다. 이어서 수열합성법으로 mole 농도를 0.5~1.0 M 범위에서 변화시키며 YZO 시료를 제작하였다. X-ray diffraction (XRD)을 통해서 Y2O3 또는 결함과 관련된 피크는 관찰이 되지 않았으며, 모든 구조물에서 압축응력이 존재하는 알 수 있었으며, field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM)에서 나노 구조물의 크기와 형태는 수열합성법의 mole 농도에 많은 영향을 받는 것으로 나타났다. Hall effect 측정을 통해서 모든 구조물은 n-type 전도 특성을 가지는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 광학적 특성인 photoluminescence (PL)에서는 수열합성법의 화학식을 고려할 때 Zn가 rich한 상태에서는 Zn interstitial로 존재하는 것으로 나타났고, mole 농도가 높아 질수록 free exciton에 의한 재결합인 UV emission이 우세하게 나타났다.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.545-551
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• 2012

In semiconductor manufacturing, the circuit integrity of packaged BGA devices is tested by measuring electrical resistance using test sockets. Test sockets have been reported to often fail earlier than the expected life-time due to high contact resistance. This has been attributed to the formation of Sn oxide films on the Au coating layer of the probe pins loaded on the socket. Similar to contact failure, and known as "fretting", this process widely occurs between two conductive surfaces due to the continual rupture and accumulation of oxide films. However, the failure mechanism at the probe pin differs from fretting. In this study, the microstructural processes and formation mechanisms of Sn oxide films developed on the probe pin surface were investigated. Failure analysis was conducted mainly by FIB-FESEM observations, along with EDX, AES, and XRD analyses. Soft and fresh Sn was found to be transferred repeatedly from the solder bump to the Au surface of the probe pins; it was then instantly oxidized to SnO. The $SnO_2$ phase is a more stable natural oxide, but SnO has been proved to grow on Sn thin film at low temperature (< $150^{\circ}C$). Further oxidation to $SnO_2$ is thought to be limited to 30%. The SnO film grew layer by layer up to 571 nm after testing of 50,500 cycles (1 nm/100 cycle). This resulted in the increase of contact resistance and thus of signal delay between the probe pin and the solder bump.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.187-191
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• 2013

Niobium nitride (NbN) films were deposited on AISI 304 stainless steels by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) assisted dc magnetron sputtering method at different ICP powers, and the effects of ICP power on the phase formation, mechanical and chemical properties of the films were investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were used to analyze the crystal structure and micro-knoop hardness was used to measure the hardness of the films. Also, 3-D mechanical profiler and a ball-on-disk wear tester were used to measure the thickness of the films and to estimate wear characteristics, respectively. The thickness of the films decreased but their hardness increased with increasing ICP power, and it was confirmed that only cubic ${\delta}$-NbN(200) remained at high ICP power. At lower ICP powers, a mixture of the hexagonal ${\delta}^{\prime}$-NbN and cubic ${\delta}$-NbN phases was obtained in the films and the hardness decreased. The corrosion potential value increased gradually with increasing ICP power, but the changes of ICP power did not significantly influence the overall corrosion resistance.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.69-77
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• 2018

The use of membrane as an innovative technology for water treatment process has now widely been accepted and adopted to replace the conventional water treatment process in increasing fresh water production for various domestic and industrial purposes. In this study, ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with different formulation were fabricated via phase inversion method. The membranes were fabricated by varying the polymer concentration (16 wt%, 18 wt%, 20 wt%, and 21 wt%). A series of tests, such as field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), pore size and porosity, contact angle, and zeta potential were performed to characterize the membranes. The membrane performance in terms of permeation flux and rejection were evaluated using a laboratory bench-scale test unit with mine water, lake water and tube well as model feed solution. Long hour filtration study of the membranes provides the information on its fouling property. Few pore blocking mechanism models were proposed to examine the behaviour of flux reduction and to estimate the fouling parameters based on different degree of fouling. 21 wt% PVDF membrane with smaller membrane pore size showed an excellent performance for surface water treatment in which the treated water complied with NWQS class II standard.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.427-437
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• 2019

Waste materials are being produced in huge quantities globally, and the usual practice is to dump them into legal or illegal landfills. Recycled tiles (RT) are being used in soil stabilisation which is considered as sustainable solution to reduce the amount of waste and solve the geotechnical problems. Although the stabilisation of soil using RT improved the soil properties, it could not achieve the standard values required for construction. Thus, this study uses 20% RT together with low cement content (2%) to stabilise soft soil. Series of consolidated undrained triaxial compression tests were conducted on untreated and RT-cement treated samples. Each test was performed at 7, 14, and 28 days curing period and 50, 100, and 200 kPa confining pressures. The results revealed an improvement in the undrained shear strength parameters (cohesion and internal frication angle) of treated specimens compared to the untreated ones. The cohesion and friction angle of the treated samples were increased with the increase in curing time and confining pressure. The peak deviator stress of treated samples increases with the increment of either the effective confining pressures or the curing period. Microstructural and chemical tests were performed on both untreated and RT-cement treated samples, which included field emission scanning electron microscopic (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX). The results indicated the formation of cementation compounds such as calcium aluminium hydrate (C-A-H) within the treated samples. Consequently, the newly formed compounds were responsible for the improvement observed in the results of the triaxial tests. This research promotes the utilisation of RT to reduce the amount of cement used in soil stabilisation for cleaner planet and sustainable environment.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.328-335
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• 2019

Nb-doped $TiO_2$(NTO) coated NiCrAl alloy foam for hydrogen production is prepared using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition(USPD) method. To optimize the size and distribution of NTO particles based on good physical and chemical stability, we synthesize particles by adjusting the weight ratio of the Nb precursor solution(5 wt%, 10 wt% and 15 wt%). The morphological, chemical bonding, and structural properties of the NTO coated NiCrAl alloy foam are investigated by X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy(XPS), and Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy(FESEM). As a result, the samples of controlled Nb weight ratio exhibit a common diffraction pattern at ${\sim}25.3^{\circ}$, corresponding to the(101) plane, and have chemical bonding(O-Nb=O) at 534 eV. The NTO particles with the optimum weight ratio of N (10 wt%) show a uniform distribution with a size of ~18.2-21.0 nm. In addition, they exhibit the highest corrosion resistance even in the electrochemical stability estimation. As a result, the introduction of NTO coated NiCrAl alloy foam by USPD improves the chemical stability of the NiCrAl alloy foam by protecting the direct electrochemical reaction between the foam and the electrolyte. Thus, the optimized NTO coating can be proposed for excellent protection of NiCrAl alloy foam for hydrocarbon-based steam methane reforming(SMR).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.3051-3057
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• 2021

The concrete is considered as an important radiation shielding material employed widely in nuclear reactors, particle accelerators, laboratory hot cells and other different radiation sources. The present research is dedicated to the shielding properties study of the ordinary concrete reinforced with different weight fractions of lead oxide micro/nano particles. Lead oxide particles were fabricated by chemical synthesis method and their properties including the average size, morphological structure, functional groups and thermal properties were characterized by XRD, FESEM-EDS, FTIR and TGA analysis. The gamma ray mass attenuation coefficient of concrete composites has been calculated and measured by means of the Monte Carlo simulation and experimental methods. The simulation process was based on the use of MCNP Monte Carlo code where the mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ) has been calculated as a function of different particle sizes and filler weight fractions. The simulation results showed that the employment of the lead oxide filler particles enhances the mass attenuation coefficient of the ordinary concrete, drastically. On the other hand, there are approximately no differences between micro and nano sized particles. The mass attenuation coefficient was increased by increasing the weight fraction of nanoparticles. However, a semi-saturation effect was observed at concentrations more than 10 wt%. The experimental process was based on the fabrication of concrete slabs filled by different weight fractions of nano lead oxide particles. The mass attenuation coefficients of these slabs were determined at different gamma ray energies using ²²Na, ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co sources and NaI (Tl) scintillation detector. The experimental results showed that the HVL parameter of the ordinary concrete reinforced with 5 wt% of nano PbO particles was reduced by 64% at 511 keV and 48% at 1332 keV. Reasonable agreement was obtained between simulation and experimental results and showed that the employment of nano PbO particles is more efficient at low gamma energies up to 1Mev. The proposed concrete is less toxic and could be prepared in block form instead of toxic lead blocks.