• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.678-699
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• 2015

Although the harsh space environment imposes many severe challenges to space pioneers, space exploration is a realistic and profitable goal for long-term humanity survival. One of the viable and promising options to overcome the harsh environment of space is nuclear propulsion. Particularly, the Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR) is a leading candidate for nearterm human missions to Mars and beyond due to its relatively high thrust and efficiency. Traditional NTR designs use typically high power reactors with fast or epithermal neutron spectrums to simplify core design and to maximize thrust. In parallel there are a series of new NTR designs with lower thrust and higher efficiency, designed to enhance mission versatility and safety through the use of redundant engines (when used in a clustered engine arrangement) for future commercialization. This paper proposes a new NTR design of the second design philosophy, Korea Advanced NUclear Thermal Engine Rocket (KANUTER), for future space applications. The KANUTER consists of an Extremely High Temperature Gas cooled Reactor (EHTGR) utilizing hydrogen propellant, a propulsion system, and an optional electricity generation system to provide propulsion as well as electricity generation. The innovatively small engine has the characteristics of high efficiency, being compact and lightweight, and bimodal capability. The notable characteristics result from the moderated EHTGR design, uniquely utilizing the integrated fuel element with an ultra heat-resistant carbide fuel, an efficient metal hydride moderator, protectively cooling channels and an individual pressure tube in an all-in-one package. The EHTGR can be bimodally operated in a propulsion mode of $100MW_{th}$ and an electricity generation mode of $100MW_{th}$, equipped with a dynamic energy conversion system. To investigate the design features of the new reactor and to estimate referential engine performance, a preliminary design study in terms of neutronics and thermohydraulics was carried out. The result indicates that the innovative design has great potential for high propellant efficiency and thrust-to-weight of engine ratio, compared with the existing NTR designs. However, the build-up of fission products in fuel has a significant impact on the bimodal operation of the moderated reactor such as xenon-induced dead time. This issue can be overcome by building in excess reactivity and control margin for the reactor design.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.40-47
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• 2001

The structural dependence of the performance of an 1.55 $1.55{\mu}m$ InGaAsPIInGaAsP MQW electro-absorption modulator for highspeed digital fiber communication was systematically investigated. The effects of n-doped SCH region length $t_n$ as well as the general structure parameters including quantum well number $N_w$, well-thickness $t_w$, detuning wavelength $\Delta\lambda$, and device length L were thoroughly analyzed. Thereby, a high-pelfoIDlance electro-absorption modulator with device length L of $100{\mu}m$ was successfully designed. The designed structure showed excellent characteristics that have residual loss less than -1.5 dB, operational voltage from 0 V to -2V, and extinction ratios of -2.92 dB at $V_{\alpha}$=-1 V and -10 dB at $V_{\alpha}$=-2V.X>=-2V.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.7 no.s1
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• pp.15-19
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• 1998

Structural and optical properties of $In_xGa_{1-X}N$ as well as $In_{0.1}Ga_{0.9}N$/GaN single quantum we11 (SQW) grown on sapphire (0001) substrate with an based GaN using rf-plasma assisted MBE have been investigated. The quality of the InXGal.,N fdm was improved as the growth temperature increased. In PL measurements at low temperatures, the band edge emission peaks of $In_xGa_{1-X}N$ was shifted to red region as an indium cell and substrate temperature increased. For $In_{0.1}Ga_{0.9}N$/GaN SQW, the optical emission energy has blue shift about 15meV in PL peak, due to the confined energy level in the well region. And, the FWHM of the $In_{0.1}Ga_{0.9}N$/GaN SQW was larger than that of the bulk Ino,la.9N films. The broadening of FWHM can be explained either as non-uniformity of Indium composition or the potential fluctuation in the well region. Photoconductivity (PC) decay measurement reveals that the optical transition lifetimes of the SQW measured gradually increased with temperatures.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.111-116
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• 1998

Thirteen InGaAs/InGaAsP separate-confinement heterostructure multiple quantum well lasers were designed such that the strain in the active layer from 0.9% compressive strain to 1.4% tensile, and their threshold current density was caluculated to see the effects of strain on the threshold current density. The well width was adjusted such that the bandgap of the quantum well is 1.55 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$, For the calculation of the band structure and transition matrix element needed for the gain calculation, a block diagonalized 8$\times$8 second-order $\to{k}.\to{p}$ Hamiltonian was used to incorporate the conduction band nonparabolicity and the valence band mixing. The threshold current density shows discontinuity at 0.4% tensile strain where the first heavy-hole subband and the first light-hole subband cross and at 0.5% tensile strain where the second conduction subband begins to exist. The threshold current density at room temperature has a maximum around these 0.4-0.5% tensile strains, and as strain varies in either direction it decreases first and then increases a little after a local minimum. This calculated trend is consistent with the other reported experimental results. We discussed the results of this calculation in comparison with other theoretical or experimental papers on the effect of strain.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.7-7
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• 2011

Quantum beam technology has been expected to develop breakthroughs for nanotechnology during the third basic plan of science and technology (2006~2010). Recently, Green- or Life Innovations has taken over the national interests in the fourth basic science and technology plan (2011~2015). The NIMS (National Institute for Materials Science) has been conducting the corresponding mid-term research plans, as well as other national projects, such as nano-Green project (Global Research for Environment and Energy based on Nanomaterials science). In this lecture, the research trends in Japan and NIMS are firstly reviewed, and the typical achievements are highlighted over key nanotechnology fields. As one of the key nanotechnologies, the quantum beam research in NIMS focused on synchrotron radiation, neutron beams and ion/atom beams, having complementary attributes. The facilities used are SPring-8, nuclear reactor JRR-3, pulsed neutron source J-PARC and ion-laser-combined beams as well as excited atomic beams. Materials studied are typically fuel cell materials, superconducting/magnetic/multi-ferroic materials, quasicrystals, thermoelectric materials, precipitation-hardened steels, nanoparticle-dispersed materials. Here, we introduce a few topics of neutron scattering and ion beam nanofabrication. For neutron powder diffraction, the NIMS has developed multi-purpose pattern fitting software, post RIETAN2000. An ionic conductor, doped Pr2NiO4, which is a candidate for fuel-cell material, was analyzed by neutron powder diffraction with the software developed. The nuclear-density distribution derived revealed the two-dimensional network of the diffusion paths of oxygen ions at high temperatures. Using the high sensitivity of neutron beams for light elements, hydrogen states in a precipitation-strengthened steel were successfully evaluated. The small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) demonstrated the sensitive detection of hydrogen atoms trapped at the interfaces of nano-sized NbC. This result provides evidence for hydrogen embrittlement due to trapped hydrogen at precipitates. The ion beam technology can give novel functionality on a nano-scale and is targeting applications in plasmonics, ultra-fast optical communications, high-density recording and bio-patterning. The technologies developed are an ion-and-laser combined irradiation method for spatial control of nanoparticles, and a nano-masked ion irradiation method for patterning. Furthermore, we succeeded in implanting a wide-area nanopattern using nano-masks of anodic porous alumina. The patterning of ion implantation will be further applied for controlling protein adhesivity of biopolymers. It has thus been demonstrated that the quantum beam-based nanotechnology will lead the innovations both for nano-characterization and nano-fabrication.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.261-273
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• 2010

For the use of Indirect-conversion CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) detectors for digital x-ray radiography and their better designs, we have theoretically evaluated the spatial-frequency-dependent detective quantum efficiency (DQE) using the cascaded linear-systems transfer theory. In order to validate the developed model, the DQE was experimentally determined by the measured modulation-transfer function (MTF) and noise-power spectrum, and the estimated incident x-ray fluence under the mammography beam quality of W/Al. From the comparison between the theoretical and experimental DQEs, the overall tendencies were well agreed. Based on the developed model, we have investigated the DQEs values with respect to various design parameters of the CMOS x-ray detector such as phosphor quantum efficiency, Swank noise, photodiode quantum efficiency and the MTF of various scintillator screens. This theoretical approach is very useful tool for the understanding of the developed imaging systems as well as helpful for the better design or optimization for new development.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.81-92
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• 1990

We developed the technologies of wuperlattice and HEMT structures grown by MOCVD, and their characterization. In the case of GaAs/AlGaAs superlattice, the periodicity, interface abruptness and Al compositional uniformity were confirmed through the shallow angle lapping technique and double crystal x-ray measurement. Photoluminesence spectra due to quantum size effect of isolated quantum wells were also observed. The heterojunction abruptness was estimated to be within 1 monolayer fluctuation by the analysis of the relation between PL FWHM(Full Width at Half Maximum) and well width. HEMT structure was successfully grown by MOCVD. The 2 dimensional electron gas formation at heterointerface in HEMT structure were evidenced through the C-V profile, SdH (Shubnikov-de Haas)oscillation and low temperature Hall measurement. Low field mobility were as high as $69,000cm^2/v.sec$ for a sheet carrier density of $5.5{\times}10^{11}cm^-2$ at 15K, and $41,200cm^2/v.sec$ for a sheet carrier density of $6.6{\times}10^{11}cm^-2$ at 77K. In addition, well defined SdH oscillation and quantized Hall plateaues were observed.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.216-222
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• 2006

In this paper, we investigated the effect of hydrogen-plasma (H-plasma) treatment on the electrical and optical properties of a quantum dot infrared photodetector (QDIP) with a 5-stacked InAs dots in an InGaAs/GaAs well structure and $Al_{0.3}Ga_{0.7}As/GaAs$ SL (superlattice) current blocking layer. It has been observed that H-plasma treatment didn't affect the band structure of QDIP. It has been also observed that the H-plasma treatment on the QDIP not only enhance the electrical property of QDIP by curing the defect channels in $Al_{0.3}Ga_{0.7}As/GaAs$ SL but also introduce defects in QDIP structure. The H-plasma treatment for 10 min with 20 W of RF power provided the lowest dark current, which made it possible to measure the photo-current (PC) of QDIP whose PC was not detectable without the H-plasma treatment due to the high dark current.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.201-210
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• 2018

The characterization of detectors installed in space- and ground-based instruments is important to evaluate the system performance. We report the development of a detector performance test system for astronomical applications using the Andor iKon M CCD camera. The performance test system consists of a light source, monochromator, integrating sphere, and power meters. We adopted the Czerny-Tuner monochromator with three ruled gratings and one mirror, which covers a spectral range of 200-9,000 nm with a spectral resolution of ~1 nm in the visible region. Various detector characteristics, such as the quantum efficiency, sensitivity, and noise, can be measured in wide wavelength ranges from the visible to mid-infrared regions. We evaluated the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) detector performance test system by using the performance verification of the Andor iKon-M CCD camera. The test procedure includes measurements of the conversion gain ($2.86e^-/ADU$), full well capacity ($130K\;e^-$), nonlinearity, and pixel defects. We also estimated the read noise, dark current, and quantum efficiency as a function of the temperature. The lowest measured read noise is $12e^-$. The dark current at 223 K was determined to be $7e^-/s/pix$ and its doubling temperature is $5.3^{\circ}C{\pm}0.2^{\circ}C$ at an activation energy of 0.6 eV. The maximum quantum efficiency at 223 K was estimated to be $93%{\pm}2%$. We proved that the quantum efficiency is sensitive to the operating temperature. It varies up to 5 % in the visible region, while the variation increases to 30 % in the near-infrared region. Based on the comparison of our results with the test report by the vendor, we conclude that our performance test results are consistent with those from the vendor considering the test environment. We also confirmed that the KASI detector performance test system is reliable and our measurement method and analysis are accurate.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2009

In this study, we performed growth of InGaN/GaN multi quantum well (MQW) structures on semi-polar (1-10]) GaN facet on 8-degree off oriented stripe patterned (100) Si substratcs by MOVPE. The structural and optical properties of the InGaN/GaN multi quantum well (MQW) structures grown on (1-101) GaN stripe depend on $NH_3$ flow rate, TMI flow rate and growth temperature are characterized by cathodoluminescence (CL) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). With the decrease of $NH_3$ flow rate, the threading dislocation of (1-101) GaN is considerably reduced. We could control the transition wavelength of InGaN/GaN MQW structures from 391.5 nm to 541.2 nm depend on the growth conditions.