• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.124-129
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• 2011

A simple process of fabricating micropillar structure and its influence upon enhancing electrochemical biosensor response were studied in this work. Conducting polymer PEDOT was used as a base material in formulating a composite with PVA. Micro porous PC membrane filter was used as a template for the micropillar of the composite on ITO electrode. This structure could provide plenty of encapsulating space for enzyme species. After dosing enzyme solution into this space, Nafion film tent was cast over the pillar structure to complete the micropillar cavity structure. In this way, the encapsulation of enzyme could be accomplished without any chemical modification. The amount of enzyme species was easily controllable by varying the concentration of the dosing solution. The more amount of enzyme is stored in the sensor, the higher the electrochemical response is produced. One more reason for the sensitivity improvement comes from the large surface area of the micropillar structure. Application of 0.7 V produced the best current response under the condition of pH 7.4. This biosensor showed linear response to the glucose in 0.1~1 mM range with the average sensitivity of $14.06{\mu}A/mMcm^2$. Detection limit was 0.01 mM based on S/N = 3.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.28 no.8 s.227
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• pp.1135-1139
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• 2004

This paper presents a microextractor for the separation of DNA molecules by their sizes. The DNA microextractor immobilizes the DNA molecules of specific size in the micropillar array by adjusting the period of the crossed electric field, thus providing a starting-point independent target DNA extraction method without separation process monitoring. The DNA microextractor has been fabricated by a three-mask micromachining process. The velocity of three different DNA molecules has been measured at the electric field of E=5V/0.8cm in the fabricated DNA microextractor, resulting in the reorientation times of $4.80{\pm}0.44sec,\;7.12{\pm}0.75sec$, and $9.88{\pm}0.30sec$ for ${\lambda}$ DNA, micrococcus DNA, and T4 DNA, respectively. T4 DNA is trapped in the micropillar array when the crossed electric field of 5V/0.8cm is applied alternately at a 10 second time interval. The present DNA microextractor filters the DNA in a specific size range by adjusting the magnitude and/or the period of the crossed electric field applied in the micropillar array.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.509-515
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• 2020

A practical single photon source for fiber-based quantum information processing is still lacking. As a possible 1.55-㎛ quantum-dot single photon source, an InGaAsP/InP-air-aperture micropillar cavity is investigated in terms of fabrication tolerance. By properly modeling the processing uncertainty in layer thickness, layer diameter, surface roughness and the cavity shape distortion, the fabrication imperfection effects on the cavity quality are simulated using a finite-difference time-domain method. It turns out that, the cavity quality is not significantly changing with the processing precision, indicating the robustness against the imperfection of the fabrication processing. Under thickness error of ±2 nm, diameter uncertainty of ±2%, surface roughness of ±2.5 nm, and sidewall inclination of 0.5°, which are all readily available in current material and device fabrication techniques, the cavity quality remains good enough to form highly efficient and coherent 1.55-㎛ single photon sources. It is thus implied that a quantum dot contained InGaAsP/InP-air-aperture micropillar cavity is prospectively a practical candidate for single photon sources applied in a fiber-based quantum information network.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.2823-2834
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• 2023

Austenitic stainless steel welds (ASSWs) of nuclear components undergo aging-related degradations caused by high temperature and neutron radiation. Since irradiation leads to the change of material characteristics, relevant quantification is important for long-term operation, but limitations exist. Although ion irradiation is utilized to emulate neutron irradiation, its penetration depth is too shallow to measure bulk properties. In this study, a systematic approach was suggested to estimate mechanical properties of ion irradiated 308 ASSW. First of all, weld specimens were irradiated by 2 MeV proton to 1 and 10 dpa. Microstructure evolutions due to irradiation in δ-ferrite and austenite phases were characterized and micropillar compression tests were performed. In succession, dislocation density based stress-strain (S-S) relationships and quantification models of irradiation defects were adopted to define phases in finite element analyses. Resultant microscopic S-S curves were compared to verify material parameters. Finally, macroscopic behaviors were calculated by multiscale simulations using real microstructure based representative volume element (RVE). Validity of the approach was verified for the unirradiated specimens such that the estimated S-S curves and 0.2% offset yield strengths (YSs) which was 363.14 MPa were in 10% agreement with test. For irradiated specimens, the estimated YS were 917.41 MPa in 9% agreement.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.50
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• pp.17.1-17.9
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• 2020

Recent advances in fabrication have enabled radial-junction architectures for cost-effective and high-performance optoelectronic devices. Unlike a planar PN junction, a radial-junction geometry maximizes the optical interaction in the three-dimensional (3D) structures, while effectively extracting the generated carriers via the conformal PN junction. In this paper, we report characterizations of radial PN junctions that consist of p-type Si micropillars created by deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) and an n-type layer formed by phosphorus gas diffusion. We use electron-beam induced current (EBIC) microscopy to access the 3D junction profile from the sidewall of the pillars. Our EBIC images reveal uniform PN junctions conformally constructed on the 3D pillar array. Based on Monte-Carlo simulations and EBIC modeling, we estimate local carrier separation/collection efficiency that reflects the quality of the PN junction. We find the EBIC efficiency of the pillar array increases with the incident electron beam energy, consistent with the EBIC behaviors observed in a high-quality planar PN junction. The magnitude of the EBIC efficiency of our pillar array is about 70% at 10 kV, slightly lower than that of the planar device (≈ 81%). We suggest that this reduction could be attributed to the unpassivated pillar surface and the unintended recombination centers in the pillar cores introduced during the DRIE processes. Our results support that the depth-dependent EBIC approach is ideally suitable for evaluating PN junctions formed on micro/nanostructured semiconductors with various geometry.

• KIEE International Transactions on Electrophysics and Applications
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• v.4C no.4
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• pp.160-164
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• 2004

In this study, we demonstrate for the first time a bio-inspired Cell-Microsystem to manipulate and detect living cells. Cultured retinal pigment epithelial cell line (ARPE-19) was directed to grow in a pre-defined Cell-Microsystem. The three-dimensional micropillars of 5 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ in height and diameter of the Cell-Microsystem were fabricated. Inhibited DNA synthesis and transformed cell morphology were observed throughout the culture period. The demonstration of manipulating and detecting living cells by the surface topography is a new approach, and it will be very useful for the future design of cell-based biosensors and bioactuators.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.1-7
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• 2015

In the present study, copper micromolds with a microhole array were precisely manufactured by a synchrotron LIGA process. Like in the traditional LIGA process, a deep X-ray lithography based on a synchrotron radiation was employed as the first manufacturing step. Due to the excellent optical performance of the synchrotron X-ray used, cylindrical micropillar arrays with high aspect ratio could be efficiently obtained. The fabricated microfeatures were then used as a master of the subsequent copper electroforming process, thereby resulting in copper micromolds with a microhole array. Thermoplastic hot embossing experiments with the copper micromolds were carried out for imprinting cylindrical microfeatures onto a polystyrene sheet. Through the hot embossing, the effect of embossing temperature and usefulness of the present manufacturing method could be verified.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.1863-1868
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• 2008

In an electrospinning process, nanofibers are produced from a droplet of a viscoelastic polymer solution subjected to strong electric field. To date, intrinsic bending instability of the electrical jets has resulted in random piles of nanofibers on a grounded collector plate. Here we report a novel electrospinning process where a hollow micropillar is constructed by the coiling of nanofibers on a sharp grounded collector. We show that the hollow microstructure formation can be explained by the viscous fluid rope coiling theory. The current process can be employed for the fabrication of three-dimensional scaffolds for cell culturing and the three-dimensional nanoprinting.

• BioChip Journal
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.294-303
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• 2018

Shear stress occurs in flowing liquids, especially at the interface of a flowing liquid and a stationary solid phase. Thus, it occurs inside the artery system of the human body, where it is responsible for a number of biological functions. The shear stress level generally remains less than $70dyne/cm^2$ in the whole circulatory system, but in the stenotic arteries, which are constricted by 95%, a shear stress greater than $1,000dyne/cm^2$ can be reached. Methods of researching the effects of shear stress on cells are of large interest to understand these processes. Here, we show the development of a microfluidic device for generating shear stress gradients. The performance of the shear stress gradient generator was theoretically simulated prior to experiments. Through simple manipulations of the liquid flow, the shape and magnitude of the shear stress gradients can be manipulated. Our microfluidic device consisted of five portions divided by arrays of micropillars. The generated shear stress gradient has five distinct levels at 8.38, 6.55, 4.42, 2.97, and $2.24dyne/cm^2$. Thereafter, an application of the microfluidic device was demonstrated testing the effect of shear stress on human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.80-85
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• 2017

Recently, microalgae which can produce high-value products have attracted increasing attention for biological conversion of $CO_2$. However, low photosynthetic efficiency and productivity have limited the practical use of microalgae. Thus, we developed microdroplet photobioreactor for the analysis of photoautotrophic growth of model alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. $CO_2$ transfer rate was increased by integrating micropillar arrays and adjusting height of microchamber. These results were identified by change of cell growth rate and fluorescence intensity. Lastly, the photoautotrophic growth kinetics of C. reinhardtii in microdroplet photobioreactor were investigated under different $CO_2$ concentrations and light intensities for 96 hours. As a result, microdroplet photobioreactor was efficient platform for isolation and rapid evaluation of microalgal strains which have enhanced productivity of high-value products and growth performance.