• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.50-56
• /
• 2001

Fabrication methods are shown to produce slender and cylindrical tungsten shafts by electrochemical etching. The shape of microshatf formed by electrochemical etching is determined by the combination of two conflicting factors, i.e., initial shape and diffusion layer. We can obtain a desirable shaft profile by adjusting the thickness gradient of diffusion layer. The diameter of microshaft is controlled by mathematical model based on relation between process parameters and diameter.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
• /
• 2004.03a
• /
• pp.588-592
• /
• 2004

This paper presents the preliminary fabrication results of colloid thrusters which can provide thrust of the order of micro to milli-Newtons. MEMS technology has been used for fabrication, and four essential fabrication techniques - deep etching with nested masks, isotropic plasma etching, anisotropic reactive ion etching, and direct fusion wafer bonding - have been newly developed. Among diverse models which have been designed and fabricated, the fabrication results of 4-inch wafer-based colloid thrusters are presented.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.100-103
• /
• 2018

Due to the plasma applied from the outside, which acts as an etchant during the etching process, considerable heat is transferred to the wafer and a separate cooling process is performed to effectively remove the heat after the process. In this case, a direct cooling method using a refrigerant is suitable for cooling through effective heat exchange. The direct cooling method using the refrigerant using the latent heat exchange is superior to the cooling method using the sensible heat exchange. Therefore, in this paper, AMESim is used to design a direct refrigerant cooling system using latent heat exchange simulator was built.The constructed simulator is reliable compared with the actual experimental results. It is expected that this simulator will help to design and search for optimal process conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.39 no.6
• /
• pp.570-575
• /
• 2002

The present tendency of electrical and electronics is concentrated on MEMS devices for advantage of miniaturization, intergration, low electric power and low cost. Therefore it is essential that high aspect ratio and high etch rate by HDP technology development, so that silicon deep trench etching reactions was studied by ICP equipment. Deep trench etching of silicon was investigated as function of platen power, etch step time of etch/passivation cycle time and SF$\_$6/:C$_4$F$\_$8/ flow rate. Their effects on etch profile, scallops, etch rate, uniformity and selectivity were also studied.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.7-11
• /
• 2015

In order to protect the patterned mask from contamination during lithography process, pellicle has become a critical component for Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology. According to EUV pellicle requirements, the pellicle should have high EUV transmittance and robust mechanical property. In this study, silicon nitride, which is well-known for its remarkable mechanical property, was used as a pellicle membrane material to achieve high EUV transmittance. Since long silicon wet etching process time aggravates notching effect causing stress concentration on the edge or corner of etched structure, the remaining membrane is prone to fracture at the end of etch process. To overcome this notching effect and attain high transmittance, we began preparing a rather thick (200 nm) $SiN_x$ membrane which can be stably manufactured and was thinned into 43 nm thickness with HF wet etching process. The measured EUV transmittance shows similar values to the simulated result. Therefore, the result shows possibilities of HF thinning processes for $SiN_x$ EUV pellicle fabrication.

• Tribology and Lubricants
• /
• v.39 no.6
• /
• pp.244-249
• /
• 2023

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the impact of surface roughness on the friction and wear properties of SUS 321, an austenitic stainless steel variant produced using the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technique, which is a prevalent additive manufacturing method. After the LPBF fabrication, the specimens go a heat treatment process aimed at alleviating residual stress. Subsequently, they are polished extensively to achieve a refined and smooth surface. To deliberately introduce controlled variations in surface roughness, an etching process is employed. This multi-step method encompassed primary etching in a 3M hydrochloric acid solution, followed by secondary etching in a 35 wt% ferric chloride solution, with varying durations applied to different specimens. A comprehensive evaluation of the surface characteristics ensued, employing precise techniques such as surface roughness measurements and meticulous assessments of water droplet contact angles. Following the surface treatment procedures, a series of friction tests are performed to explore the tribological behavior of the etched specimens. This in-depth investigation reached its peak by revealing valuable insights. It clarified a strong correlation between intentionally altered surface roughness, achieved through etching processes, and the resulting tribological performance of LPBF-fabricated SUS 321 stainless steel. This significantly advances our grasp of material behavior in tribological applications.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.171-176
• /
• 2007

LCD-BLU (Liquid Crystal Display-Back Light Unit) of medium size is usually manufactured by forming numerous dots with $50{\sim}300\;{\mu}m$ in diameter by etching process and V-grove shape with $50\;{\mu}m$ in height by mechanical cutting process. However, the surface of the etched dots is very rough due to the characteristics of the etching process and V-cutting needs rather high cost. Instead of existing optical pattern made by etching and mechanical cutting, 3-dimensional continuous micro-lens of $200\;{\mu}m$ in diameter was applied in the present study. The continuous micro-lens pattern fabricated by modified LIGA with thermal reflow process was tested to this new optical design of LGP. The manufacturing process using LIGA-reflow is made up of three stages as follows: (i) the stage of lithography, (ii) the stage of thermal reflow process and (iii) the stage of electroplating. The continuous micro-lens patterned LGP was fabricated with injection molding and its test results showed the possibility of commercial use in the future.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.317-324
• /
• 2021

High-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steels show excellent toughness when trace amounts of transition elements are added. In steels, prior austenite grain size (PAGS), which is often determined by the number of added elements, is a critical factor in determining the mechanical properties of the material. In this study, we used two etching methods to measure and compare the PAGS of specimens with bainitic HSLA steels having different Nb contents These two methods were nital etching and picric acid etching. Both methods confirmed that the sample with high Nb content exhibited smaller PAGS than its low Nb counterpart because of Nb's ability to hinder austenite recrystallization at high temperatures. Although both etching approaches are beneficial to PAGS estimation, the picric acid etching method has the advantage of enabling observation of the interface containing Nb precipitate. By contrast, the nital etching method has the advantage of a very short etching time (5 s) in determining the PAGS, with the picric acid etching method being considerably longer (5 h).

• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.52
• /
• pp.5.1-5.10
• /
• 2022

The use of Pipelines for long-distance transportation of crude oil, natural gas and similar applications is increasing and has pivotal importance in recent times. High specific strength plays a crucial role in improving transport efficiency through increased pressure and improved laying efficiency through reduced diameter and weight of line pipes. TRIP-based high-strength and high-ductility alloys comprise a mixture of ferrite, bainite, and retained austenite that provide excellent mechanical properties such as dimensional stability, fatigue strength, and impact toughness. This study performs microstructure analysis using both Nital etching and LePera etching methods. At the time of Nital etching, it is difficult to distinctly observe second phase. However, using LePera etching conditions it is possible to distinctly measure the M/A phase and ferrite matrix. The fraction measurement was done using OM and SEM images which give similar results for the average volume fraction of the phases. Although it is possible to distinguish the M/A phase from the SEM image of the sample subjected to LePera etching. However, using Nital etching is nearly impossible. Nital etching is good at specific phase analysis than LePera etching when using SEM images.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.20 no.11
• /
• pp.617-622
• /
• 2010

We have studied methods to save Si source during the fabrication process of crystalline Si solar cells. One way is to use a thin silicon wafer substrate. As the thickness of the wafers is reduced, mechanical fractures of the substrate increase with the mechanical handling of the thin wafers. It is expected that the mechanical fractures lead to a dropping of yield in the solar cell process. In this study, the mechanical properties of 220-micrometer-solar grade Cz p-type monocrystalline Si wafers were investigated by varying saw-damage etching conditions in order to improve the flexural strength of ultra-thin monocrystalline Si solar cells. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution and tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) solution were used as etching solutions. Etching processes were operated with a varying of the ratio of KOH and TMAH solutions in different temperature conditions. After saw-damage etching, wafers were cleaned with a modified RCA cleaning method for ten minutes. Each sample was divided into 42 pieces using an automatic dicing saw machine. The surface morphologies were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and 3D optical microscopy. The thickness distribution was measured by micrometer. The strength distribution was measured with a 4-point-bending tester. As a result, TMAH solution at $90^{\circ}C$ showed the best performance for flexural strength.