• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.426-431
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• 2015

Microstructural examination of the Nb-Si-B alloys at Nb-rich compositions is performed. The Nb-rich corner of the Nb-Si-B system is favorable in that the constituent phases are Nb (ductile and tough phase with high melting temperature) and $T_2$ phase (very hard intermetallic compound with favorable oxidation resistance) which are good combination for high temperature structural materials. The samples containing compositions near Nb-rich corner of the Nb-Si-B ternary system are prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) process using $T_2$ and Nb powders. $T_2$ bulk phase is made in arc furnace by melting the Nb slug and the Si-B powder compact. The $T_2$ bulk phase was subsequently ball-milled to powders. SPS is performed at $1300^{\circ}C$ and $1400^{\circ}C$, depending on the composition, under 30 MPa for 600s, to produce disc-shaped specimen with 15 mm in diameter and 3 mm high. Hardness tests (Rockwell A-scale and micro Vickers) are carried out to estimate the mechanical property.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.511-515
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• 2018

W-10 wt% Ti alloys that have a homogeneous microstructure are prepared by thermal decomposition of $WO_3-TiH_2$ powder mixtures and spark plasma sintering. The reduction and dehydrogenation behavior of $WO_3$ and $TiH_2$ are analyzed by temperature programmed reduction and a thermogravimetric method, respectively. The X-ray diffraction analysis of the powder mixture, heat-treated in an argon atmosphere, shows W- oxides and $TiO_2$ peaks. Conversely, the powder mixtures heated in a hydrogen atmosphere are composed of W, $WO_2$ and $TiO_2$ phases at $600^{\circ}C$ and W and W-rich ${\beta}$ phases at $800^{\circ}C$. The densified specimen by spark plasma sintering at $1500^{\circ}C$ in a vacuum using hydrogen-reduced $WO_3-TiH_2$ powder mixtures shows a Vickers hardness value of 4.6 GPa and a homogeneous microstructure with pure W, ${\beta}$ and Ti phases. The phase evolution dependent on the atmosphere and temperature is explained by the thermal decomposition and reaction behavior of $WO_3$ and $TiH_2$.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.230-237
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• 2007

The fabrication of Fe alloy-40 wt.%TiC composite materials using spark plasma sintering process after ball-milling was studied. Raw powders to fabricate Fe alloy-TiC composite were Fe alloy, $TiH_{2}$ and activated carbon. Fe alloy powder was Distaloy AE (4%Ni-1%Cu-0.5%Mo-0.01%C-bal.%Fe) made by Hoeganes company with better toughness and lower melting point. These powders were ball-milled in horizontal attrition ball mill at a ball-to-powder weight ratio of 30 : 1. After that, these mixture powders were sintered by using spark plasma sintering apparatus for 5 min at $1200-1275^{\circ}C$ in vacuum atmosphere under $10^{-3}$ torr. DistaloyAE-40 wt.%TiC composite was directly synthesized by dehydrogenation and carburization reaction during sintering process. The phase transformation of as-milled powders and sintered materials was confirmed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The density and harness materials was measured in order to confirm the densification behavior. In case of DistaloyAE-40 wt.%TiC composite retained for 5 min at $1275^{\circ}C$, it has the relative density of about 96% through the influence of rapid densification and fine TiC particle reinforced Fe-based composites materials.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.38 no.10
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• pp.914-920
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• 2001

The grain orientation distribution and grain boundary characterization of $ZrB_2$-ZrC composites sintered by a SPS(Spark Plasma Sintering) method, a new sintering technique were analyzed by the EBSP technique and then their crystallographic results have been compared with those of a sintered specimen using a PLS(Pressureless Sintering) method. In the $ZrB_2$-ZrC composite manufactured by SPS, (0001) planes of $ZrB_2$ were oriented in the direction normal to the specimen surface. In the case of PLS, those of $ZrB_2$ were oriented normal to the electron beam. In both cases of PLS and SPS, ZrC grains had the randomly oriented grain structure. The grain boundary characterization showed that low angle grain boundaries in the PLS and SPS processed materials constituted about 10% and 8% of the total number of boundaries, respectively, represented the only slight difference between the proportion of low angle grain boundary. However, in the distribution of CSL(Coincident Site Lattice) boundaries, it was shown the higher proportion of CSL boundaries with $\Sigma$ 3,5,7,9, 11 in the SPS processed material.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.94-100
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• 2008

The implant prototypes with various porosities were fabricated by Spark Plasma Sintering of atomized spherical titanium balls. The interface was observed by optical microscope. Sintering temperature and holding time were selected at the point of big change of Z-axis ratio during sintering. These experiments show that Spark Plasma Sintering of spherical titanium balls can be efficiently used to produce implants surfaced with titanium balls with various porosities in a short time less than 120 seconds by manipulating the current condition such as z-axis, temperature and balls size.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.358-362
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• 2009

Ti$_{50}$Cu$_{20}$Ni$_{20}$Al$_{10}$ quaternary amorphous alloy was prepared by high-energy ball milling process. A complete amorphization was confirmed for the composition of Ti$_{50}$Cu$_{20}$Ni$_{20}$Al$_{10}$ after milling for 30hrs. Differential scanning calorimetry showed a large super-cooled liquid region ($\Delta$T$_x$ = T$_x$ T$_g$, T$_g$ and T$_x$: glass transition and crystallization onset temperatures, respectively) of 80 K. Prepared amorphous powders of Ti$_{50}$Cu$_{20}$Ni$_{20}$Al$_{10}$ were consolidated by spark-plasma sintering. Densification behavior and microstructure changes were investigated. Samples sintered at higher temperature of 713 K had a nearly full density. With increasing the sintering temperature, the compressive strength increased to fracture strength of 756 MPa in the case of sintering at 733 K, which showed a 'transparticle' fracture. The samples sintered at above 693 K showed the elongation maximum above 2%.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.309-314
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• 2003

A spark plasma sintering technique has been used for the fabrication of $Al_2O_3$-SiC nanocomposites at the low temperature of $1100^{\circ}C$∼$1500^{\circ}C$. The sintered $Al_2O_3$-SiC composites shows very homogeneous microstructure without any particular abnormal grain growth, indicating that the addition of nano-sized SiC particles is very effective to control grain growth and to induce the residual stress in the $Al_2O_3$ matrix, resulting in the intragranular fracture. These SiC particles are present in the grain boundaries and also intragrain, depending on the sintering condition, and improve remarkably the mechanical properties of $Al_2O_3$-SiC composite through the mechanisms of strengthening and toughening induced by crack diffraction and crack bridging.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.560-565
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• 2003

M-doped (M=Al, Ni) ZnO thermoelectric materials were fully densified at low temperatures of 800∼1,000$^{\circ}C$ and their sintering characteristics and microstructural features were investigated. Electron microscopic analysis showed that the addition of NiO promoted tile formation of solid solution and caused actively grain growth. The addition of A1$_2$O$_3$ prevented the evaporation of pure ZnO at grain boundaries and suppressed the grain growth by the formation of secondary phase. In case of the addition of A1$_2$O$_3$ together with NiO, the specimen showed an excellent microstructure and also the SEM-EBSP (Electron Back-scattered Diffraction Pattern) analysis confirmed that it shows a superior grain boundary distribution to the others specimens. These microstructural characteristics induced by the addition of A1$_2$O$_3$ together with NiO may increase the electrical conductivity by the increase in carrier concentration and decrease the thermal conductivity by the phonon scattering effect and, consequently, improve the thermoelectric property.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.158-162
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• 2015

To substitute indium tin oxide (ITO), many substituents have been studied such as metal nanowires, carbon based materials, 2D materials, and conducting polymers. These materials are not good enough to apply to an electrode because theses exhibit relatively high resistance. So metal grids are required as an additionalelectrode to improve the conductivities of substituents. The metal grids were printed by electrohydrodynamic printing system using Ag nanoparticle based ink. The Ag grids showed high uniformity and the line width was about $10{\mu}m$. The Ag nanoparticles are surrounded by dispersants such as unimolecular and polymer to prevent aggregation between Ag nanoparticles. The dispersants lead to low conductivity of Ag grids. Thus, the sintering process of Ag nanoparticles is strongly recommended to remove dispersants and connect each nanoparticles. For sintering process, the interface and microstructure of the Ag grid were controlled in 1.0 torr Ar atmosphere at aound $400^{\circ}C$ of temperature. From the sintering process, the uniformity of the Ag grid was improved and the defects on the Ag grids were reduced. As a result, the resistivity of Ag grid was greatly reduced up to $5.03({\pm}0.10){\times}10^{-6}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$. The metal grids embedded substrates containing low pressure Ar sintered Ag grids showed 90.4% of transmittance in visible range with $0.43{\Omega}/{\square}$ of sheet resistance.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.249-252
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• 2010

The ground amorphous powder was consolidated into a dense sintered body with a typical ultrafine $Al_2O_3-GdAlO_3$ eutectic structure by spark plasma sintering (SPS). Sintered material with ultrafine and dense eutectic structure was obtained by an appropriate combination of rapid quenching and SPS at lower temperature and more quickly than by conventional sintering. The $Al_2O_3$-based rare earth eutectic ceramics for solar cell emitters are believed to have a higher efficiency and the $Al_2O_3$ based eutectic ceramics with ultrafine grains will be one of the promising materials showing excellent selective emitter characteristics.