• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.371-378
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• 1996

An RF inductively coupled plasma (ICP) torch has been developed as a typical thermal plasma generator and reactor. It has been applied to various materials processings such as plasma flash evaporation, thermal plasma CVD, plasma spraying, and plasma waste disposal. The RF ICP reactor has been generally operated under one atmospheric pressure. Lately the characteristics of low pressure RF ICP is attracting a great deal of attention in the field of plasma application. In our researches of RF plasma applications, low pressure RF ICP is mainly used. In many cases, the plasma generated by the ICP torch under low pressure seems to be rather capacitive, but high density ICP can be easily generated by our RF plasma torch with 3 turns coil and a suitable maching circuiit, using 13.56 MHz RF generator. Plasma surface modification (surface hardening by plasma nitriding and plasma carbo-nitriding), plasma synthesis of AIN, and plasma CVD of BN, B-C-N compound and diamond were practiced by using low pressure RF plasma, and the effects of negative and positive bias voltage impression to the substrate on surface modification and CVD were investigated in details. Only a part of the interesting results obtained is reported in this paper.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.66-78
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• 2013

In order to develop of 80 kW RF plasma torch system, we achieved three-dimensional simulations for the extraction of more information as temperature in torch and fluid behavior analysis, etc. The position of powder injection tube, the plasma discharge characteristics with various input current and various length of ceramic tube, and the plasma temperature characteristics with process gas flow rate such those was simulated. RF thermal plasma torch designed by simulation was manufactured that was measured to the maximum of 89.3 kW power. The mass production using developed 80 kW RF thermal plasma torch system were investigated by characteristics manufactured of Si nano powder. The mass-production level of Si nano-powder was average of 539 g/hr and high yield rate of 71.6%, respectively. The particle size distribution $D_{99}/D_{50}$ of manufacturing nano-powder was investigated to 1.98 as a good uniform.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.401-409
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• 2013

Numerical analysis on RF (Radio-Frequency) thermal plasma treatment of micro-sized Ni metal was carried out to understand the synthesis mechanism of nano-sized Ni powder by RF thermal plasma. For this purpose, the behaviors of Ni metal particles injected into RF plasma torch were investigated according to their diameters ($1{\sim}100{\mu}m$), RF input power (6 ~ 12 kW) and the flow rates of carrier gases (2 and 5 slpm). From the numerical results, it is predicted firstly that the velocities of carrier gases need to be minimized because the strong injection of carrier gas can cool down the central column of RF thermal plasma significantly, which is used as a main path for RF thermal plasma treatment of micro-sized Ni metal. In addition, the residence time of the injected particles in the high temperature region of RF thermal plasma is found to be also reduced in proportion to the flow rate of the carrier gas In spite of these effects of carrier gas velocities, however, calculation results show that a Ni metal particle even with the diameter of $100{\mu}m$ can be completely evaporated at relatively low power level of 10 kW during its flight of RF thermal plasma torch (< 10 ms) due to the relatively low melting point and high thermal conductivity. Based on these observations, nano-sized Ni metal powders are expected to be produced efficiently by a simple treatment of micro-sized Ni metal using RF thermal plasmas.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.9-20
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• 2012

A brief review on the thermal plasma synthesis of nano-sized powders is presented according to the application materials, such as, metals, ceramics, glasses, carbonaceous materials and other functional composites, such as, supported metal catalyst and core-shell structured nano materials. As widely adopted plasma sources available for thermal plasma synthesis of nanosized powders, three kinds of plasma torches, such as transferred and non-transferred DC and RF plasma torches, are introduced with the main features of each torch system. In the basis of the described torch features and the properties of suggested materials, application results including synthesis mechanism are reviewed in this paper.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.179-179
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• 2012

국내에는 나노 분말 제조를 위한 RF 열플라즈마 시스템 제조 기술이 확보되어 있지 않고, 또한 나노 파우더 제조를 위한 공정 기술 역시 외국 업체에 전적으로 의존하고 있다. 본 연구에서는 나노 분말 제조를 위한 RF 열 플라즈마 토치 시스템 개발과 고품질의 나노 파우더 합성 공정 기술을 확립하여 필요 기관에 제공하는데 있다. 80 kW RF Plasma torch system의 설계 및 제작을 위해 플라즈마 Simulator인 CFD-ACE+를 이용하여 플라즈마 토치 및 반응로 내의 온도 분포, 유체 유동, 열전달 등의 해석을 통해 플라즈마 토치 및 반응로의 반경 및 길이, 구조의 설계 값을 도출하여 반응로를 설계하여 RF 파워, RF 플라즈마 토치(Torch), 반응기(Reactor), 사이클론(Cyclone), 포집부(Collector), 열교환기 및 진공배기 시스템으로 구성하였다. Si 나노 소재의 경우, 이차전지 음극재에 적용이 가능한 대표적인 소재로서 높음 비용량과 충/방전시 부피팽창을 감소시킬 수 있어 이차전지의 고용량 구현을 위해서는 가장 중요한 소재중 하나로 많은 관심 재료로 평가 받고 있다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 상용화된 Si 원료 powder를 사용하여 고상 분체 공급 장치를 통하여 고온의 플라즈마를 통과시켜 기상화 및 결정화과정을 통해 Si 나노분말을 제조하였다. 공정 변수로서 공정압력 및 플라즈마 power, Gas의 변화량에 따른 나노 분말의 제조 특성에 대한 실험을 진행한 후 제조된 나노 분말을 비표면적측정(BET) 및 SEM 측정 결과 분석을 통하여 시스템 특성을 파악하였으며 제조된 Si 나노 파우더는 이차전지 음극재로서 770 mAh/g의 용량과 93%@50 cycle 수준의 유지율을 나타내었다.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1172-1174
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• 1998

Spatial(radial and height) distributions of excited argon species are measured for an inductively coupled plasma under five operating conditions: 1) no carrier gas, 2) carrier gas without aerosol, 3) carrier gas with desolvated aerosol, 4) carrier gas with aerosol, 5) carrier gas with aerosol and excess lithium. A complete RF power mapping of argon excited states is obtained. The excited states of argon for a typical analytical torch rapidly diffuse towards the center in the higher region of the plasma. The presence of excess lithium makes no significant change in the excited states of argon. The increase in the RF power increases the intensity of argon excited states uniformly across the radial coordinate.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.781-783
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• 2010

Chonbuk national university High-enthalpy plasma research center is under construction for 60kW and 200kw ICP(RF) Plasma system as Advance Material R&D and production equipment. The 60kW & 200kW ICP(RF) plasma systems will contribute to promote Korea's material industrial development and Thermal plasma technology.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.784-785
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• 2010

The high enthalpy plasma research center in Chonbuk national university is under construction for MW class plasma wind tunnel. Four types of plasma equipment will be installed in the research center. The equipments are 1set of 0.4 MW class enhanced Huels type plasma equipment, 1 set of 2.4 MW class enhanced Huels type plasma quipment, 1 set of 60 kW RF plasma equipment and 1 set of 200 kW RF plasma equipment. And electrical, water and gas utilities to assistant plasma equipments are under construction.

• Applied Science and Convergence Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.14-18
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• 2018

In order to understand the mechanism of the synthesis of particles using a plasma torch, it is necessary to understand the reaction mechanisms using a computer simulation. In this study, we have developed a simulation method to combine the Lagrangian scheme to follow microparticles and a nodal method to treat nanoparticles categorized with different particle sizes. The Lagrangian scheme includes the Coulomb force which affects the dynamics of larger particles. In contrast, the nodal method is adequate for the nanoparticles because the charge effect is negligible for nanoparticles but the number of nanoparticles is much larger than that of microparticles. This method is helpful to understand the dynamics and growth mechanism of micro- and nano-powder mixture observed in the experiment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.190-190
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• 2012

전북대학교 고온 플라즈마 응용 연구 센터는 교육과학기술부 기초연구사업 중 고가연구장비 구축사업의 일환으로 소재공정용 다목적 100 kW 플라즈마 발생장치를 구축하고 있다. 100kW급 ICP (RF)형 플라즈마 발생장치는 RF 전력 인출이 이중으로 되어있어 한쪽에서는 수~수십 um 크기의 금속, 세라믹 등 고융점 원료분말을 순간적으로 용해, 기화 및 분해시키고 이들 기화 또는 분해된 증기를 급랭시키는 과정에서 초미분(<1 um)을 합성하는 플라즈마 합성법 연구가 가능하도록 RF 플라즈마 분말 합성 시스템이 연결되어 있고 다른 한쪽으로는 진공 챔버 내에서 고온 고속의 RF 플라즈마 불꽃을 형성 한 후 RF 플라즈마의 축 방향으로 반응성 가스 및 코팅 대상 물질을 주입하여 코팅 할 수 있는 열플라즈마 용사코팅 시스템이 연결되어 있는 다목적 연구 장치이다. 본 장치는 100 kW급 RF 전원 공급기와 유도결합형 플라즈마 토치, 플라즈마 분말 합성 부, 플라즈마 코팅 및 반응성 증착부, 가스 공급부, 냉각수 공급부, 전기 계장/제어부로 구성되어 있다.