• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.251-252
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• 2012

Recently, the growing interest in organic microelectronic devices including OLEDs has led to an increasing amount of research into their many potential applications in the area of flexible electronic devices based on plastic substrates. However, these organic devices require a gas barrier coating to prevent the permeation of water and oxygen because organic materials are highly susceptible to water and oxygen. In particular, high efficiency OLEDs require an extremely low Water Vapor Transition Rate (WVTR) of $1{\times}10^{-6}g/m^2$/day. The Key factor in high quality inorganic gas barrier formation for achieving the very low WVTR required ($1{\times}10^{-6}g/m^2$/day) is the suppression of defect sites and gas diffusion pathways between grain boundaries. In this study, we developed an $Al_2O_3$ nano-crystal structure single gas barrier layer using a Neutral Beam Assisted Sputtering (NBAS) process. The NBAS system is based on the conventional RF magnetron sputtering and neutral beam source. The neutral beam source consists of an electron cyclotron Resonance (ECR) plasma source and metal reflector. The Ar+ ions in the ECR plasma are accelerated in the plasma sheath between the plasma and reflector, which are then neutralized by Auger neutralization. The neutral beam energies were possible to estimate indirectly through previous experiments and binary collision model. The accelerating potential is the sum of the plasma potential and reflector bias. In previous experiments, while adjusting the reflector bias, changes in the plasma density and the plasma potential were not observed. The neutral beam energy is controlled by the metal reflector bias. The NBAS process can continuously change crystalline structures from an amorphous phase to nano-crystal phase of various grain sizes within a single inorganic thin film. These NBAS process effects can lead to the formation of a nano-crystal structure barrier layer which effectively limits gas diffusion through the pathways between grain boundaries. Our results verify the nano-crystal structure of the NBAS processed $Al_2O_3$ single gas barrier layer through dielectric constant measurement, break down field measurement, and TEM analysis. Finally, the WVTR of $Al_2O_3$ nano-crystal structure single gas barrier layer was measured to be under $5{\times}10^{-6}g/m^2$/day therefore we can confirm that NBAS processed $Al_2O_3$ nano-crystal structure single gas barrier layer is suitable for OLED application.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.539-544
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• 2012

We have grown AlN nanorods and AlN films using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy by changing the Al source flux. Plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy of AlN was performed on c-plane $Al_2O_3$ substrates with different levels of aluminum (Al) flux but with the same nitrogen flux. Growth behavior of AlN was strongly affected by Al flux, as determined by in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction. Prior to the growth, nitridation of the $Al_2O_3$ substrate was performed and a two-dimensionally grown AlN layer was formed by the nitridation process, in which the epitaxial relationship was determined to be [11-20]AlN//[10-10]$Al_2O_3$, and [10-10]AlN//[11-20]$Al_2O_3$. In the growth of AlN films after nitridation, vertically aligned nanorod-structured AlN was grown with a growth rate of $1.6{\mu}m/h$, in which the growth direction was <0001>, for low Al flux. However, with high Al flux, Al droplets with diameters of about $8{\mu}m$ were found, which implies an Al-rich growth environment. With moderate Al flux conditions, epitaxial AlN films were grown. Growth was maintained in two-dimensional or three-dimensional growth mode depending on the Al flux during the growth; however, final growth occurred in three-dimensional growth mode. A lowest root mean square roughness of 0.6 nm (for $2{\mu}m{\times}2{\mu}m$ area) was obtained, which indicates a very flat surface.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.441-441
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• 2011

$TiO_2$ nanoparticles were grown on carbon fiber by atomic later deposition (ALD) with TTIP $(Ti(OCH(CH_3)_2)_4$ and $H_2O$ precusors. After sampe surfaces were treated by electron beam (1 MeV, 5 KGy), an improvement in the photocatalytic reacitivity of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles on carbon fiber was observed. An increase in the population of hydroxyl group on $TiO_2$ particles and the oxidation of carbon fiber were found upon e-beam exposure, whereas there was no noticeable changes of their morphology. It implies that those changes in O and C 1s state of $TiO_2$ particles/carbon fiber induced by e-beam treatment could be related to the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity. In contrast, when carbon fiber fully covered with $TiO_2$ thick films was treated with high-energy electron beam under same conditions, the improvement of photocatalytic activity as well as any changes in XPS spectra (Ti 2p, O 1s and C 1s) could not be found.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.923-929
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• 2006

Single crystalline ZnO films were successfully grown on R-plane sapphire substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Epitaxial relationship between the ZnO film and the R-plane sapphire was determined to be $[-1101]Al_2O_3{\parallel}[0001]ZnO,\;[11-20]Al_2O_2{\parallel}[-1100]ZnO$ based on the in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction analysis and confirmed again by high-resolution X-ray diffraction measurements. Grown (11-20) ZnO films surface showed mound-like morphology along the <0001>ZnO direction and the RMS roughness was about 4 nm for $2{\mu}m{\times}2{\mu}m$ area.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 1996.11a
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• pp.357-360
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• 1996

MgO protection layer in ac PDP(plasma display panel) prevents the dielectric layer from ion bombarding in discharge plasma. The MgO layer also has the additional important role in lowering the firing voltage due to a large secondary electron emission coefficient. Until now, the MgO protection layer is mainly prepared by E-beam evaporation. In this study, MgO protection layer is prepared on dielectric layer of ac PDP cell by reactive R.F magnetron sputtering with Mg target under various conditions of oxygen partial pressure. Discharge characteristics of PDP is also studied as a parameter of MgO preparation conditions. The sputtered MgO shows the better discharge characteristics compared with MgO deposited by E-beam evaporator.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1993.07b
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• pp.1183-1185
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• 1993

The plasma polymerized thin film of MMA+Sty was prepared using a capacitively coupled gas-flow-type reactor. This thin films were also delincated by the electron-beam apparatus with an acceleration voltage 30KV, and the pattern in the resist was developed with the gas-flow-type reactor using an argon as an etchant. The effect of discharge power on groth rate and etching rate of the thin film were studied. The molacular structure of the resist was investigated by ESCA and FT-IR.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.52-56
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• 2007

We have installed an ultra high vacuum (UHV) molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system and investigated into the characteristics of MBE-grown ZnSe/GaAs [001] using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), we confirmed that layer's surface was dense and uniform of molecular layer. We used x-ray diffractometer (XRD) and confirmed two peaks correspond to GaAs [001] substrate and ZnSe epilayer, respectively. We observed photoluminescence (PL) peak approximately at 437 nm and measured PL mapping of 2 inch ZnSe epilayer.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.52
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• pp.4.1-4.11
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• 2022

Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) is an essential tool for observing surface details of specimens in a high vacuum. A series of specimen procedures precludes the observations of living organisms, resulting in artifacts. To overcome these problems, Takahiko Hariyama and his colleagues proposed the concept of the "nanosuit" later referred to as "NanoSuit", describing a thin polymer layer placed on organisms to protect them in a high vacuum in 2013. The NanoSuit is formed rapidly by (i) electron beam irradiation, (ii) plasma irradiation, (iii) Tween 20 solution immersion, and (iv) surface shield enhancer (SSE) solution immersion. Without chemical fixation and metal coating, the NanoSuit-formed specimens allowed structural preservation and accurate element detection of insulating, wet specimens at high spatial resolution. NanoSuit-formed larvae were able to resume normal growth following FESEM observation. The method has been employed to observe unfixed and uncoated bacteria, multicellular organisms, and paraffin sections. These results suggest that the NanoSuit can be applied to prolong life in vacuo and overcome the limit of dead imaging of electron microscopy.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.3899-3902
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• 2013

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.184.1-184.1
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• 2013

It is generally known that electron beam has sterilization effects and can activate plant germination and growth. Compared to electron beam, electrical pulse has not been frequently studied with respect to the biological application. In this study, we have analyzed the effects of high voltage pulse on seed germination and growth using various plant species. We have used the high voltage generator for examining seed's responses to the high voltage pulse. The operating voltage and currents of the generator are about 300 kV and 30 kA, respectively. Pulse width is 60 ns. High voltage pulse has slightly activated germination and growth of radish during early stage. Various levels of germination and growth are observed in different plant species after treated with high voltage pulse.