• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.403-420
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• 2010

Nano and micro structure-based biosensors are promising tool for label-free detection of biomolecular interactions with great accuracy. This review gives a brief survey on nano and micro platforms to sense a variety of analytes such as DNA, proteins and viruses. Among incredible nano and micro structure for bio-analytical applications, the scope of this paper will be limited to micro and nano resonators and nanowire field-effect transistors. Nanomechanical motion of the resonators transducers biological information to readable signals. They are commonly combined with an optical, capacitive or piezo-resistive detection systems. Binding of target molecule to the modified surface of nanowire modulates the current of the nanowire through electrical field-effect. Both detection methods have advantages of label-free, real-time and high sensitive detection. These structures can be extended to fabricate array-type sensors for multiplexed detection and high-throughput analysis. The biosensors based on these structures will be applied to lab-on-a-chip platforms and point-of-care diagnostics. Basic concepts including detection mechanisms and trends in their fields will be covered in this review.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.131-137
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• 2016

In this study, a multilevel visible light communication (VLC) system based on resistor ladder circuit is designed to transmit medical data. VLC technology is being considered as an alternative wireless communication due to various advantages such as ubiquity, license free operation, low energy consumption, and no radio frequency (RF) radiation characteristics. With VLC even in places where traditional RF communication (e.g., Wi-Fi) is forbidden, significant bio-medical signal including the electrocardiography (ECG) and photoplethysmography (PPG) data can be transmitted. More lives could be saved anywhere by this potential advantage of VLC with a fast emergency response time. A multilevel transmission scheme is adopted to improve the data capacity with keeping simplicity, where data transmission rate can increase by log2m times (m is the number of voltage levels) than that of conventional VLC transmission based on on/off keying. In order to generate multi-amplitudes, resistor ladder circuit, which is a basic principle of digital to analog convertor, is employed, and information is transferred through LED (Light-Emitting Diode) with different voltage level. In the receiver side, multilevel signal is detected by optical receiver including a photo diode. Then, the collected data are analyzed to serve the necessary medical care to the concerned patient.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.172-179
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• 2020

We studied an integrated-optic biosensor configuration that operates at a wavelength of 0.63 ㎛ based on the evanescent-wave and two horizontal mode power coupling of Si₃N₄ rib-optical waveguides formed on a Si/SiO₂/Si₃N₄/SiO₂ multilayer thin films. The sensor consists of a single-mode input waveguide, followed by a two-mode section which acts as the sensing region, and a Y-branch output for separating the two output waveguides. The coupling between the two propagating modes in the sensing region produces a periodically repeated optical power exchanges along the propagation. A light power was steered from one output channel to the other due to the change in the cladding layer (bio-material) refractive index, which affected the effective refractive index (phase-shift) of two modes through evanescent-wave. Waveguide analyses based on the rib optical waveguide dimensions were performed using various numerical computational software. Sensitivity values of 12~23 and 65~165 au/RIU, respectively for the width and length of 4 ㎛, and 3841.46 and 26250 ㎛ of the two-mode region corresponding to the refractive index range 1.36~1.43 and 1.398~1.41, respectively, were obtained.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.193-198
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• 2008

A novel refractive index sensor, which consists of polymer channel waveguide overlaid with $TiO_2$ thin film, is demonstrated. To evaluate the fabricated sensor, we measured the polarimetric interference induced by concentration change of injected glycerol solution. Our experimental results show that thicker $TiO_2$ film improves the sensitivity of the polarimetric interferometer. For the fabricated waveguide with a 20 nm thick $TiO_2$ film, the measured index change to lead phase variation of $2{\pi}$ is $1.8{\times}10^{-3}$.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 2011

A confocal microscope was developed utilizing a scanning sample stage based on a home-built double-compound flexure guide. A scanning sample stage with nano-scale resolution consisted of a double leaf spring based flexure, a displacement amplifying lever, a Piezo-electric Transducer(PZT) actuator and capacitance sensors. The performance of the two-axis stage was analyzed using a commercial finite element method program prior to the implementation. A single line laser was employed as the light source along with the Photo Multiplier Tube(PMT) that served as the detector. The performance of the developed confocal microscope was evaluated with a mouse ear skin imaging test. The designed scanning stage enabled us to build the confocal microscope without the two optical scanning mirror modules that are essential in the conventional laser scanning confocal microscope. The elimination of the scanning mirror modules makes the optical design of the confocal microscope simpler and more compact than the conventional system.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.645-651
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• 2018

Lung cancer has the highest death rate of any cancer diseases in Koreans. However, patients often feel difficult to recognize their disease before facing the terminal diagnosis due to the absence of any significant symptoms. Furthermore, the clear detection of an early cancer stage is usually obscure with existing diagnostic methods. For this reason, extensive research efforts have been made on introducing a wide range of biochemical diagnostic tools for the molecular level analysis of biological fluids for lung cancer diagnoses. A chip-based biosensor, one type of the analytical devices, can be a great potential for the diagnosis, which can be used without any further expensive analytical equipments nor skilled analysts. In this mini review, we highlight recent research trends on searching biomarker candidates and bio-chip sensors for lung cancer diagnosis in addition to discussing their future aspects.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.268-268
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• 2016

Chemical sensors have attracted much attention due to their various applications such as agriculture product, cosmetic and pharmaceutical components and clinical control. A conventional chemical and biological sensor is consists of fluorescent dye, optical light sources, and photodetector to quantify the extent of concentration. Such complicated system leads to rising cost and slow response time. Until now, the most contemporary thin film transistors (TFTs) are used in the field of flat panel display technology for switching device. Some papers have reported that an interesting alternative to flat panel display technology is chemical sensor technology. Recent advances in chemical detection study for using TFTs, benefits from overwhelming progress made in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) electronic, have been studied alternative to current optical detection system. However numerous problems still remain especially the long-term stability and lack of reliability. On the other hand, the utilization of metal oxide transistor technology in chemical sensors is substantially promising owing to many advantages such as outstanding electrical performance, flexible device, and transparency. The top-gate structure transistor indicated long-term atmosphere stability and reliability because insulator layer is deposited on the top of semiconductor layer, as an effective mechanical and chemical protection. We report on the fabrication of InGaZnO TFTs with silver nanowire as the top gate electrode for the aim of chemical materials detection by monitoring change of electrical properties. We demonstrated that the improved sensitivity characteristics are related to the employment of a unique combination of nano materials. The silver nanowire top-gate InGaZnO TFTs used in this study features the following advantages: i) high sensitivity, ii) long-term stability in atmosphere and buffer solution iii) no necessary additional electrode and iv) simple fabrication process by spray.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.422.1-422.1
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• 2016

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs), a new kind of carbon-based photo luminescent nanomaterial from chemically modified graphene oxide (CMGO) or chemically modified graphene (CMG), has attracted extensive research attention in the last few years due to its outstanding chemical, optical and electrical properties. To further extended its potential applications as optoelectronic devices, solar cells, bio and bio-sensors and so on, intensive research efforts have been devoted to the CMG. However, the CMG, a suspension of aqueous, have problematic since they are prone to agglomeration after drying a solvent. In this study, we synthesized the GQDs from graphite and deposited on silicon substrate by kinetic spray. The photo luminescent properties of deposited GQD films were analyzed and compared with initial GQDs suspension. In addition, its carbon properties were investigated with GQDs solution properties. The properties of deposited GQD films by kinetic spray were similar to that of the GQDs suspension in water. We could provide a pathway for silicon-based silicon based device applications. Finally, the well-adjusted GQD films with photo luminescence effects will show Energy-Down-Shift layer effects on silicon solar cells. The GQD layers deposited at nozzle scan speeds of 40, 30, 20, and 10 mm/s were evaluated after they were used to fabricate crystalline-silicon solar cells; the results indicate that GQDs play an important role in increasing the optical absorptivity of the cells. The short-circuit current density (Jsc) was enhanced by about 2.94 % (0.9 mA/cm2) at 30 mm/s. Compared to a reference device without a GQD energy-down-shift layer, the PCE of p-type silicon solar cells was improved by 2.7% (0.4 percentage points).

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.394-394
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• 2009

Water solubility of conjugated polymers may offer many applications. Potential applications of water-soluble conjugated polymers include the polymer light-emitting diode and new materials for nano and micro hollow-capsules, and bio- or chemo-sensors. We synthesized neutral polyfluorenes containing bromo-alkyl groups by the palladium catalyzed Suzuki coupling reaction. Bromo-alkyl side groups in neutral polyfluorenes were quaternized by tri-methyl amine solution. The electrochemical and optical properties of water-soluble conjugated polymers are discussed. This novel synthesized water-soluble conjugated polymers were used as a interfacial dipole layer between active layer and metal cathode in polymer solar cell for enhancement of open-circuit voltage (Voc), which is one of the most critical factors in determining device characteristics. We also investigated the device performance of polymer solar cell with different metal cathode such as Al, Ag, Au and Cu. In polymer solar cell, novel cationic water-soluble conjugated polymers were inserted between active layer and high-work function cathode (Al, Ag, Au and Cu).

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.73-79
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• 2008

We propose a novel metal-waveguide structure for sustaining long-range surface-plasmon-polaritons (LRSPP). The LRSPP waveguides are composed basically of two asymmetric metal layers: a very thin, finite-width metal strip on top of a metal slab with a dielectric gap in between them. Mode cut-off of LRSPPs excited on the double-metal waveguides is characterized by consistently investigating their dispersion relations and mode profiles. We also confirm experimentally the existence of low-loss, well-confined LRSPP modes by measuring far-field outputs emerging from an edge of the asymmetric double-metal waveguides. In the experiment, we have fabricated several types of SPP waveguide devices including straight lines, S-bend, and Y-branch consisting of gold strips (20 nm-thick, $5{\mu}m$-wide). Overall propagation loss of the proposed double-metal waveguides is quite comparable to that of single metal-strip waveguides, in addition the mode sizes can be tuned by increasing the core-insulator gap between the metal layers to get a higher coupling efficiency with a single-mode fiber in telecom wavelength. The proposed LRSPP waveguides may open up realization of SPP-waveguide sensors or nonlinear SPP-devices by replacing the core-insulator with a bio-fluid or a nonlinear medium.