• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.273-293
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• 2023

Pulsed field ablation (PFA) was recently rediscovered as an emerging treatment modality for the ablation of cardiac arrhythmias. Ultra-short high voltage pulses are leading to irreversible electroporation of cardiac cells subsequently resulting in cell death. Current literature of PFA for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) consistently reported excellent acute and long-term efficacy along with a very low adverse event rate. The undeniable benefit of the novel ablation technique is that cardiac cells are more susceptible to electrical fields whereas surrounding structures such as the pulmonary veins, the phrenic nerve or the esophagus are not, or if at all, minimally affected, which results in a favorable safety profile that is expected to be superior to the current standard of care without compromising efficacy. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms of electroporation are not yet entirely understood on a cellular basis and pulsed electrical field protocols of different manufactures are not comparable among one another and require their own validation for each indication. Importantly, randomized controlled trials and comparative data to current standard of care modalities, such as radiofrequency- or cryoballoon ablation, are still missing. This review focuses on the "pearls" and "pitfalls" of PFA, a technology that has the potential to become the future leading energy source for PVI and beyond.

• Rapid Communication in Photoscience
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.50-53
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• 2015

$SnO_2$ thin films were deposited on fused silica substrate by pulsed laser deposition under transverse magnetic field. We have explored the effects of magnetic field and ablation laser wavelength on the optical properties of laser-induced plasma plume and structural characteristics of the deposited $SnO_2$ films. Optical emission from the plume was monitored using an optical fiber to examine the influence of magnetic field on the population of the excited neutral and ionic species and their decay with times after laser ablation. Also, we employed photoluminescence, x-ray diffraction, and UV-Vis absorption to characterize $SnO_2$ films.

• KIEE International Transactions on Electrophysics and Applications
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• v.3C no.2
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• pp.43-47
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• 2003

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films were fabricated by the pulsed laser ablation deposition (PLAD) method onto Pt/Ti/SiO$_2$/Si substrates. Crystalline phases as well as preferred orientations in PZT films were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The well-crystallized perovskite phase and the (101) preferred orientation were obtained by two-step annealing at the conditions of $650^{\circ}C$, 1 hour. It was found that the temperature for the pulsed laser ablated PZT films annealed via a two-step annealing process can be reduced 20$0^{\circ}C$ compared to that of the conventional three-step annealing temperature profile for enhancing the transformation of the perovskite phase. The remanent polarization and the coercive field of this film were about 20 $\mu$C/$\textrm{cm}^2$ and 46 kV/cm, while the dielectric constant and loss values measured at 1 KHz were approximately 860 and 0.04, respectively. The interesting phenomena of this film, such as vertical shift in hysteresis curve, are also discussed.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.3-11
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• 2016

A nerve block is an effective tool for diagnostic and therapeutic methods. If a diagnostic nerve block is successful for pain relief and the subsequent therapeutic nerve block is effective for only a limited duration, the next step that should be considered is a nerve ablation or modulation. The nerve ablation causes iatrogenic neural degeneration aiming only for sensory or sympathetic denervation without motor deficits. Nerve ablation produces the interruption of axonal continuity, degeneration of nerve fibers distal to the lesion (Wallerian degeneration), and the eventual death of axotomized neurons. The nerve ablation methods currently available for resection/removal of innervation are performed by either chemical or thermal ablation. Meanwhile, the nerve modulation method for interruption of innervation is performed using an electromagnetic field of pulsed radiofrequency. According to Sunderland's classification, it is first and foremost suggested that current neural ablations produce third degree peripheral nerve injury (PNI) to the myelin, axon, and endoneurium without any disruption of the fascicular arrangement, perineurium, and epineurium. The merit of Sunderland's third degree PNI is to produce a reversible injury. However, its shortcoming is the recurrence of pain and the necessity of repeated ablative procedures. The molecular mechanisms related to axonal regeneration after injury include cross-talk between axons and glial cells, neurotrophic factors, extracellular matrix molecules, and their receptors. It is essential to establish a safe, long-standing denervation method without any complications in future practices based on the mechanisms of nerve degeneration as well as following regeneration.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.798-802
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• 2010

From time-resolved optical emission spectra, we have investigated the effects of a transverse magnetic field on the expansion of a plasma plume produced by laser ablation of a ZnO:$P_2O_5$ ceramic target in oxygen active atmosphere. The emission spectra of $Zn^{+*}$, $P^{+*}$, and $Zn^*$ neutrals in the presence of magnetic field turn out to be considerably different from those without magnetic field. The characteristics of the deposited films grown on amorphous fused silica substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) are examined by analyzing their photoluminescence (PL), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV-visible spectra.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.04c
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• pp.22-26
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• 2008

In this paper, we developed a hybrid simulation model of carbon laser ablation under the Ar plasmas consisted of fluid and particle methods. Three kinds of carbon particles, which are carbon atom, ion and electron emitted by laser ablation, are considered in the computation. In the present simulation, we adopt capacitively coupled plasma with asymmetrical electrodes. As a result, in Ar plasmas, carbon ion motions were suppressed by a strong electric field and were captured in Ar plasmas. Therefore, a low number density of carbon ions were deposited upon substrate. In addition, the plume motions in Ar gas atmosphere was also discussed.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.830-835
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• 1998

The characteristics of the ablation plume generated by 532 nm Nd: YAG laser irradiation of a Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) target have been investigated using a pulsed-field time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS). The relative abundance of O+, Ti+, Zr+, Pb+, TiO+, and ZrO+ ions has been measured and discussed. TiO+ and ZrO+ ions were also found to be particularly stable within the laser ablation plasma with respect to PbO+ species. The behavior of the temporal distributions of each ionic species was studied as a function of the delay time between the laser shot and the ion extraction pulse. The most probable velocity of each ablated ion is estimated to be Vmp=1.1-1.6x 105 cm/s at a laser fluence of 1.2 J/cm2, which is typically employed for the thin film deposition of PZT. The TOF distribution of Ti+ and Zr+ ions shows a trimodal distribution with one fast and two slow velocity components. The fast velocity component (6.8x 10' cm/s) appears to consist of directly ablated species via nonthermal process. The second component, originated from the thermal evaporation process, has a characteristic velocity of 1.4-1.6 x 105 cm/s. The slowest component (1.2 x 105 cm/s) is composed of a dissociation product formed from the corresponding oxide ion.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2005.07c
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• pp.2163-2165
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• 2005

A pulsed laser ablation deposition (PLAD) technique has been used for producing fine particle as well as thin film at relatively low substrate temperatures. However, in order to manufacture and evaluate such materials in detail, motions of plume particles generated by laser ablation have to be understood and interactions between the particles by ablation and gas plasma have to be clarified. Therefore, this paper was focused on the understanding of plume motion in laser ablation assisted by Ar plasma at 50(mTorr). Two-dimensional hybrid model consisting of fluid and particle models was developed and three kinds of plume particles which are carbon atom (C), ion $(C^+)$ and electron were considered in the calculation of particle method It was obtained that ablated $C^+$ was electrically captured in Ar plasmas by strong electric field (E). The difference between motions of the ablated electrons and $C^+$ made E strong and the collisional processes active.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1501-1505
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• 1999

Expansion dynamics of C$^{+}$ ions ejected from 355-nm laser ablation of graphite target in vacuum has been investigated by pulsed-field time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry. A strong nonlinear dependence of the amount of desorbed C$^{+}$ ions on laser fluence is interpreted by the mechanism that C$^{+}$ ions are produced directly from the graphite via conversion of the multiphoton energy into thermal energy. The temporal evolution of C$^{+}$ ions was measured by varying the delay time of the ion repelling pulse with respect to the laser irradiation, which provides significant information on the ablated plume characterization. The TOF distributions of ablated ions showed a bimodal shape and could be fitted by shifted Maxwell-Boltzmann distributions. The velocity of the fast component increases with the delay time, whereas the slow component (< 500 m/s) exhibits a constant velocity. Also studied were the effects of the laser fluence on the energetics of C$^{+}$ ions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2004.03a
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• pp.271-277
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• 2004

As one of the concepts of the laser/electric hybrid propulsion system, a feasibility study on possibilities of electrostatic acceleration of a laser ablation plasma induced from a solid target was conducted. Energy distributions of accelerated ions were measured by a Faraday cup. A time-of-flight measurement was also conducted for ion velocity measurement. It was found that an average speed of ions from a pure laser ablation in this case was about 20 km/sec for pulse energy of 40 $\mu$J/pulse with pulse width of 250 psec. On the other hand, through an electrostatic field with a + I ,000 V electrode, the speed could be accelerated up to 40 km/sec. It was shown that the electrode with positive potential was more effective than that with negative potential for positive-ion acceleration in laser induced plasma, or pulsed plasma, in which ions were induced with the Coulomb explosion following electrons. In addition, the ion-acceleration or deceleration strongly depended on conditions of pairs of inner diameter and electrodes gap.