• Title/Summary/Keyword: Nano-level

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Androgen in the Uterus: A Compensator of Estrogen and Progesterone

  • Cheon, Yong-Pil;Lee, Dong-Mok;Chun, Tea-Hoon;Lee, Ki-Ho;Choi, In-Ho
    • Development and Reproduction
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    • v.13 no.3
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    • pp.133-143
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    • 2009
  • Pivotal roles of steroid hormones in uterine endometrial function are well established from the mouse models carrying the null mutation of their receptors. Literally androgen belongs to male but interestingly it also detected in female. The fluctuations of androgen levels are observed during reproductive cycle and pregnancy, and the functional androgen receptor is expressed in reproductive organs including uterus. Using high throughput methodology, the downstream genes of androgen have been isolated and revealed correlations between other steroid hormones. In androgen-deficient mice, uterine responses to exogenous gonadotropins are impaired and the number of pups per litter is reduced dramatically. As expected androgen has important role in decidual differentiation through AR. It regulates specific gene network during those cellular responses. Recently we examined the effects of steroid hormonal complex containing high level of androgen. Interestingly, on the contrary to the androgen-alone administration, the hormonal complex did not disturb the decidual reaction and the pubs did not show any morphological abnormality. It is suspected that the complexity of communication between other steroid hormone and their receptors are the reasons. In summary, androgen exists in female blood and it suggests the importance of androgen in female reproduction. However, the complex interactions with other hormones are not fully understood compared with estrogen and progesterone. The further studies to evaluate the possible role of androgen are needed and important to provide the in vivo rational for the prevention of associated pregnancy complications and help human's health.

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A Molecular Dynamics Study of the Stress Effect on Oxidation Behavior of Silicon Nanowires

  • Kim, Byeong-Hyeon;Kim, Gyu-Bong;Park, Mi-Na;Ma, U-Ru-Di;Lee, Gwang-Ryeol;Jeong, Yong-Jae
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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    • 2011.02a
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    • pp.499-499
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    • 2011
  • Silicon nanowires (Si NWs) have been extensively studied for nanoelectronics owing to their unique optical and electrical properties different from those of bulk silicon. For the development of Si NW devices, better understanding of oxidation behavior in Si NWs would be an important issue. For example, it is widely known that atomic scale roughness at the dielectric (SiOx)/channel (Si) interface can significantly affect the device performance in the nano-scale devices. However, the oxidation process at the atomic-scale is still unknown because of its complexity. In the present work, we investigated the oxidation behavior of Si NW in atomic scale by simulating the dry oxidation process using a reactive molecular dynamics simulation technique. We focused on the residual stress evolution during oxidation to understand the stress effect on oxidation behavior of Si NWs having two different diameters, 5 nm and 10 nm. We calculated the charge distribution according to the oxidation time for 5 and 10 nm Si NWs. Judging from this data, it was observed that the surface oxide layer started to form before it is fully oxidized, i.e., the active diffusion of oxygen in the surface oxide layer. However, it is well-known that the oxide layer formation on the Si NWs results in a compressive stress on the surface which may retard the oxygen diffusion. We focused on the stress evolution of Si NWs during the oxidation process. Since the surface oxidation results in the volume expansion of the outer shell, it shows a compressive stress along the oxide layer. Interestingly, the stress for the 10 nm Si NW exhibits larger compressive stress than that of 5 nm Si NW. The difference of stress level between 5 an 10 anm Si NWs is approximately 1 or 2 GPa. Consequently, the diameter of Si NWs could be a significant factor to determine the self-limiting oxidation behavior of Si NWs when the diameter was very small.

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Synthesis of high purity aluminum nitride nanopowder by RF induction thermal plasma (유도결합 열 플라즈마를 이용한 고순도 질화알루미늄 나노 분말 합성)

  • Kim, Kyung-In;Choi, Sung-Churl;Han, Kyu-Sung;Hwang, Kwang-Taek;Kim, Jin-Ho
    • Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2014
  • Aluminum nitride, which has outstanding properties such as high thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity, has been received a great attention as a substrate and packaging material of semiconductor devices. Since aluminum nitride has a high sintering temperature of 2173 K and its properties depends on the impurity level, it is necessary to synthesize high-purity and nano-sized aluminum nitride powders for the applications. In this research, we synthesized high purity aluminum nitride nanopowders from aluminum using RF induction thermal plasma system. Sheath gas (NH3) flow was controlled to establish the synthesis condition of high purity aluminum nitride nanopowders. The obtained aluminum nitride nanopowders were evaluated by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, FTIR and N-O analysis.

Photoluminescence Characteristics of $Y_3Al_5O_{12}:Ce^{3+},Eu^{3+}$ Phosphors by $Eu^{3+}$ ions ($Eu^{3+}$ 농도에 따른 $Y_3Al_5O_{12}:Ce^{3+},Eu^{3+}$ 형광체의 광학적 특성)

  • Kwak, Hyun-Ho;Kim, Se-Jun;Park, Yong-Seo;Choi, Hyung-Wook
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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    • 2008.06a
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    • pp.441-442
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    • 2008
  • For this study, Yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) particles co-doped with $Ce^{3+}$ and $Eu^{3+}$ were prepared via the combustion process using the 1:1 ratio of metal ions to reagents. The characteristics of the synthesized nano powder were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and photoluminescence (PL). The various YAG peaks, with the (420) main peak, appeared at all Eu concentrationin XRD patterns. The YAG phase crystallized with results that are in good agreement with the JCPDS diffraction file 33-0040. The SEM image showed that the resulting YAG:Ce,Eu powders had uniform sizes and good homogeneity. The grain size was about 50nm. The photoluminescence spectra of the YAG:Ce,Eu nanoparticles were investigated to determine the energy level of electron transition related to luminescence processes. It was composed a broad band of $Ce^{3+}$ activator into the weak line peak of $Eu^{3+}$ in YAG host. The PL intensity of $Ce^{3+}$ has the wavelengths of 480-650 nm and The PL intensity of $Eu^{3+}$ has main peak at 590nm.

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A Study on the Thermal and Chemical Properties of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Nanocomposite in Power Cables

  • Yang, Sang-Hyun;Jang, Hyeok-Jin;Park, Noh-Joon;Park, Dae-Hee;Yang, Hoon;Bang, Jeong-Hwan
    • Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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    • v.10 no.6
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    • pp.217-221
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    • 2009
  • The use of the carbon nanotube (CNT) is superior to the general powder state materials in their thermal and chemical properties. Because its ratio of diameter to length (aspect ratio) is very large, it is known to be a type of ideal nano-reinforcement material. Based on this advantage, the existing carbon black of the semiconductive shield materials used in power cables can acquire excellent properties by the use of a small amount of CNTs. Therefore, we fabricated specimens using a solution mixing method. We investigated the thermal properties of the CNT, such as its storage modulus, loss modulus, and its tan delta using a dynamic mechanical analysis 2980. We found that a high thermal resistance level is demonstrated by using a small amount of CNTs. We also investigated the chemical properties of the CNT, such as the oxidation reaction by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) made by Travel IR. In the case of the FT-IR tests, we searched for some degree of oxidation by detecting the carboxyl group (C=O). The results confirm a tendency for a high cross-linking density in a new network in which the CNTs situated between the carbon black constituent molecules show a bond using similar constructive properties.

Molecular Geometries and Electronic Structures of Methyl Pyropheophorbide-a and (Cationic) Tropolonyl Methyl Pyropheophorbides: DFT Calculation

  • Kim, Na-Ri;Kim, Su-Jin;Kim, Jin-Dong;Huh, Do-Sung;Shim, Young-Key;Choe, Sang-Joon
    • Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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    • v.30 no.1
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    • pp.205-213
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    • 2009
  • This study reports on the geometry optimizations and electronic structure calculations for methyl pyropheophorbide (MPPa), tropolonyl methyl pyropheophorbides (TMPPa, ITMPPa), and cationic tropolonyl methyl pyropheophorbides ($TMPPa^+{{\cdot}BF_4}^-,\;ITMPPa^+{{\cdot}BF_4}^-,\;TMPPa^+,\;and\;ITMPPa^+$) using Local Spin Density Approximation (LSDA/ 6-31G*) and the Restricted Hatree-Fock (RHF/6-31G*) level theory. From the calculated results, we found that substituted cationic tropolonyl groups have larger structural effects than those of substituted neutral tropolonyl groups. The order of structural change effects is $ITMPPa^+ > ITMPPa^+{{\cdot}BF_4}^-$ > ITMPPa, as a result of the isopropyl group. Because it is an electron-releasing group, the substituted isopropyl group electronic effect on a 3-position tropolone increases the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital and Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO-LUMO) energy gap. It was constituted that the larger the cationic characters of these photosensitizers, the smaller the HOMOLUMO band gaps are. The orbital energies of the cationic systems and the ions are stronger than those of a neutral system because of a strong electrostatic interaction. However, this stabilization of orbital energies are counteracted by the distortion of chlorin macrocycle, which results in a large destabilization of chlorin-based compound HOMOs and smaller destabilization of LUMOs as shown in TMPPa (ITMPPa), $TMPPa^+{{\cdot}BF_4}^- (ITMPPa^+{{\cdot}BF_4}^-),\;and\;TMPPa^+\;(ITMPPa^+)$ of Figure 6 and Table 6-7. These results are in reasonable agreement with normal-coordinate structural decomposition (NSD) results. The HOMO-LUMO gap is an important factor to consider in the development of photodynamic therapy (PDT).

SiGe Nanostructure Fabrication Using Selective Epitaxial Growth and Self-Assembled Nanotemplates

  • Park, Sang-Joon;Lee, Heung-Soon;Hwang, In-Chan;Son, Jong-Yeog;Kim, Hyung-Jun
    • Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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    • 2009.05a
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    • pp.24.2-24.2
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    • 2009
  • Nanostuctures such as nanodot and nanowire have been extensively studied as building blocks for nanoscale devices. However, the direct growth of the nanostuctures at the desired position is one of the most important requirements for realization of the practical devices with high integrity. Self-assembled nanotemplate is one of viable methods to produce highly-ordered nanostructures because it exhibits the highly ordered nanometer-sized pattern without resorting to lithography techniques. And selective epitaxial growth (SEG) can be a proper method for nanostructure fabrication because selective growth on the patterned openings obtained from nanotemplate can be a proper direction to achieve high level of control and reproducibility of nanostructucture fabrication. Especially, SiGe has led to the development of semiconductor devices in which the band structure is varied by the composition and strain distribution, and nanostructures of SiGe has represented new class of devices such nanowire metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors and photovoltaics. So, in this study, various shaped SiGe nanostructures were selectively grown on Si substrate through ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHV-CVD) of SiGe on the hexagonally arranged Si openings obtained using nanotemplates. We adopted two types of nanotemplates in this study; anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) and diblock copolymer of PS-b-PMMA. Well ordered and various shaped nanostructure of SiGe, nanodots and nanowire, were fabricated on Si openings by combining SEG of SiGe to self-assembled nanotemplates. Nanostructure fabrication method adopted in this study will open up the easy way to produce the integrated nanoelectronic device arrays using the well ordered nano-building blocks obtained from the combination of SEG and self-assembled nanotemplates.

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Optimization of SWCNT-Coated Fabric Sensors for Human Joint Motion Sensing

  • Cho, Hyun-Seung;Park, Seon-Hyung;Yang, Jin-Hee;Park, Su-Youn;Han, Bo-Ram;Kim, Jin-Sun;Lee, Hae-Dong;Lee, Kang-Hwi;Lee, Jeong-Whan;Kang, Bok-Ku;Chon, Chang-Soo;Kim, Han-Sung;Lee, Joo-Hyeon
    • Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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    • v.13 no.5
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    • pp.2059-2066
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    • 2018
  • This study explored the feasibility of utilizing an SWCNT-coated fabric sensor for the development of a wearable motion sensing device. The extent of variation in electric resistance of the sensor material was evaluated by varying the fiber composition of the SWCNT-coated base fabrics, attachment methods, number of layers, and sensor width and length. 32 sensors were fabricated by employing different combinations of these variables. Using a custom-built experimental jig, the amount of voltage change in a fabric sensor as a function of the length was measured as the fabric sensors underwent loading-unloading test with induced strains of 30 %, 40 %, and 50 % at a frequency of 0.5 Hz. First-step analysis revealed the following: characteristics of the strain-voltage curves of the fabric sensors confirmed that 14 out of 32 sensors were evaluated as more suitable for measuring human joint movement, as they yield stable resistance values under tension-release conditions; furthermore, significantly stable resistance values were observed at each level of strain. Secondly, we analyzed the averaged maximum, minimum, and standard deviations at various strain levels. From this analysis, it was determined that the two-layer sensor structure and welding attachment method contributed to the improvement of sensing accuracy.

A Study on Utilization of Drone for Public Sector by Analysis of Drone Industry (국내외 드론산업 동향 분석을 통한 공공분야에서의 드론 활용방안에 대한 연구)

  • Sim, Seungbae;Kwon, Hunyeong;Jung, Hosang
    • Journal of Information Technology Services
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    • v.15 no.4
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    • pp.25-39
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    • 2016
  • The drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle which has no human pilot. Drones can be classified into military drones, commercial drones, and personal drones by usage. Also, drones can be classified from large-sized to nano-sized drone by size and autonomous, remote controlled drone by control type. Especially, military drones can be classified into low-altitude drones, medium-altitude, and high-altitude drones by altitude. Recently, the drone industry is one of the fast growing industries in the world. As drone technologies have become more advanced and cost-effective, Korean government has set its goal to become a top-level country in drone business. However, the government's strict regulation for drone operations is one of the biggest hurdles for the development of the related technologies in Korea and other countries. For example, critical problems for drone delivery can be classified into technical issues and institutional issues. Technical issues include durability, conditional awareness, grasp and release mechanisms, collision avoidance systems, drone operating system. Institutional issues include pilot and operator licensing, privacy rules, noise guidelines, security rules, education for drone police. This study analyzes the trends of the drone industry from the viewpoint of technology and regulation. Also, we define the business areas of drone utilization. Especially, the drone business types or models for public sector are proposed. Drone services or functions promoting public interests need to be aligned with the business reference model of Korean government. To define ten types of drone uses for public sector, we combine the business types of government with the future uses of drones that are proposed by futurists and business analysts. Future uses of drones can be divided into three sectors or services. First, drone services for public or military sectors include early warning systems, emergency services, news reporting, police drones, library drones, healthcare drones, travel drones. Second, drone services for commercial or industrial services include parcel delivery drones, gaming drones, sporting drones, farming and agriculture drones, ranching drones, robotic arm drones. Third, drone services for household sector include smart home drones.

Fabrication, Performance Evaluation of Components of Planar Type MEMS Solid Propellant Thruster (평판형 MEMS 고체 추진제 추력기 요소 제작 및 성능 평가)

  • Park, Jong-Ik;Kwon, Se-Jjin
    • Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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    • v.36 no.6
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    • pp.581-586
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    • 2008
  • The MEMS solid propellant thrusters have very low thrust level for applying to the propulsion system of micro/nano satellites or the side jet thruster of smart bombs. In this research, the fabrication possibility of planar type MEMS solid propellant thrusters that have enlarged burning surface area was examined and the safety of the structure of thruster during the firing test was confirmed. The performance of a micro igniter which is the key component of the MEMS solid propellant thruster was estimated by the ANSYS Icepak and evaluated by the experiment. Finally, the thrust was measured by the micro force sensor. The levels of thrust were 300, 600 mN in the case of K=15, 20.