• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.319-325
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• 2020

In this paper, a discontinuous-conduction mode (DCM) DC-DC buck converter is presented for mobile device applications. The buck converter consists of compensator for stable operations, pulse-width modulation (PWM) logic, and power switches. In order to achieve small hardware form-factor, the number of off-chip components should be kept to be minimum, which can be realized with simple and efficient frequency compensation and digital soft start-up circuits. Burst-mode operation is included for preventing the efficiency from degrading under very light load condition. The DCM DC-DC buck converter is fabricated with 0.18-um BCDMOS process. Programmable output with external resistors is typically set to be 1.8V for the input voltage between 2.8 and 5.0V. With a switching frequency of 1MHz, measured maximum efficiency is 92.6% for a load current of 100mA.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.330-338
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• 2011

In this paper, a current-mode buck-boost converter using Multiple switching devices is presented. The efficiency of the proposed converter is higher than that of conventional buck-boost converter. In order to improve the power efficiency at the high current level, the proposed converter is controlled with PWM(pulse width modulation) method. The converter has maximum output current 300mA, input voltage 3.3V, output voltage from 700mV to 12V, 1.5MHz oscillation frequency, and maximum efficiency 90%. Moreover, this paper proposes watchdog circuits in order to ensure the reliability and to improve the performance of dc-dc converters. An electrostatic discharge(ESD) protection circuit for deep submicron CMOS technology is presented. The proposed circuit has low triggering voltage using gate-substrate biasing techniques. Simulated result shows that the proposed ESD protection circuit has lower triggering voltage(4.1V) than that of conventional ggNMOS(8.2V).

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.82-89
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• 2010

In this paper, a buck-boost converter using three DTMOS(Dynamic Threshold Voltage MOSFET) switching devices is presented. The efficiency of the proposed converter is higher than that of conventional buck-boost converter. DTMOS with low on-resistance is designed to decrease conduction loss. The threshold voltage of DTMOS drops as the gate voltage increases, resulting in a much higher current handling capability than standard MOSFET. In order to improve the power efficiency at the high current level, the proposed converter is controlled with PWM(pulse width modulation) method. The converter has maximum output current 300mA, input voltage 3.3V, output voltage from 700mV to 12V, 1.2MHz oscillation frequency, and maximum efficiency 90%. Moreover, the LDO(low drop-out) is designed to increase the converting efficiency at the standby mode below 1mA.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.72-81
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• 2009

This paper presents quasi-resonant type high power factor ac power supply for atmospheric pressure plasma cleaning system adopting three phase PFC boost converter and it's control method. The presented ac power supply consists of single phase H-bridge inverter, step-up transformer for generating high voltage and three phase PFC boost converter for high power factor on source utility. Unlikely to the traditional LC resonant converter, the propose one has an inductor inside only. A single resonant takes place through the inside inductor and the capacitor from the plasma load modeled into two series capacitor and one resistance. The quasi-resonant can be achieved by cutting the switching signal when the load current decrease to zero. To obtain power control ability, the propose converter controlled by two control schemes. One is the changing output pulse period scheme in the manner of PFM(Pulse Frequency Modulation) control. On the other, to provide more higher power to load, the DC rail voltage is directly controlled by the 3-phase PFC boost converter. The significant merits of the proposed converter are the uniform power providing capability for high quality plasma generation and low reactive power in AC and DC side. The proposed work is verified through digital simulation and experimental implementation.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.255-260
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• 2002

The effects of intracellular and extracellular pH on the inwardly rectifying $K^+$ (IRK) channel of the bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) were examined using whole-cell patch-clamp technique. The IRK current, efficiently blocked by $Ba^{2+}\;(200{\mu}M),$ is the most prominent membrane current in BAECs, which mainly determines the resting membrane potential. The expression of Kir2.1 was observed in BAECs using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Intracellular alkalinization, elicited by the extracellular substitution of NaCl with $NH_4Cl$ (30 mM), significantly augmented the amplitude of IRK current. On the contrary, the amplitude of IRK current was attenuated by the Na-acetate (30 mM)-induced intracellular acidification. The changes in extracellular pH also closely modulated the amplitude of IRK current, which was decreased to $40.2{\pm}1.3%$ of control upon switching the extracellular pH to 4.0 from 7.4. The extracellular pH value for half-maximal inhibition (pK) of IRK current was 5.11. These results demonstrate that the activity of IRK channel in BAECs, probably Kir2.1, was suppressed by proton at both sides of plasma membrane.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.686-694
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• 2014

A power semiconductor device, usually used as a switch or rectifier, is very significant in the modern power industry. The power semiconductor, in terms of its physical properties, requires a high breakdown voltage to turn off, a low on-state resistance to reduce static loss, and a fast switching speed to reduce dynamic loss. Among those parameters, the breakdown voltage and on-state resistance rely on the doping concentration of the drift region in the power semiconductor, this effect can be more important for a higher voltage device. Although the low doping concentration in the drift region increases the breakdown voltage, the on-state resistance that is increased along with it makes the static loss characteristic deteriorate. On the other hand, although the high doping concentration in the drift region reduces on-state resistance, the breakdown voltage is decreased, which limits the scope of its applications. This addresses the fact that breakdown voltage and on-state resistance are in a trade-off relationship with a parameter of the doping concentration in the drift region. Such a trade-off relationship is a hindrance to the development of power semiconductor devices that have idealistic characteristics. In this study, a novel structure is proposed for the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) device that uses conductivity modulation, which makes it possible to increase the breakdown voltage without changing the on-state resistance through use of a P-floating layer. More specifically in the proposed IGBT structure, a P-floating layer was inserted into the drift region, which results in an alleviation of the trade-off relationship between the on-state resistance and the breakdown voltage. The increase of breakdown voltage in the proposed IGBT structure has been analyzed both theoretically and through simulations, and it is verified through measurement of actual samples.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2016.11a
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• pp.9-10
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• 2016

최근 급속한 산업 발달로 인하여 기존의 수 MW급 대용량 인버터가 산업용 팬, 컴프레서, 고속 철도 시스템 등 여러 분야에 사용되면서 이와 관련된 대용량 인버터 연구가 활발히 진행 중이다. 이런 대용량 인버터는 고효율과 직병렬의 구성된 전력용반도체 소자를 동시다발적으로 제어되어야하기 때문에 멀티레벨 인버터의 구조가 가장 적합하다. Cascaded H-bridge 멀티레벨 인버터는 커패시터와 다이오드를 사용하지 않고 스위치만으로 구성하며, 필터를 따로 구성하지 않아도 정현파와 유사하게 전압을 출력할 수 있다. 이로 인해 고주파 감소 및 각 셀을 직렬로 연결하여 입력전압보다 높은 출력전압을 얻을 수 있다. 또한, 스위칭 방법에 따라 동일한 Cascaded H-bridge 멀티레벨인버터 토폴로지에서도 각 THD와 온도에 따른 손실이 달라질 수 있다. Cascaded H-bridge 멀티레벨 인버터에서 이용하는 스위칭 방식은 첫 번째로 유니폴라 방식을 기본으로 한 Phase-shift가 있다. 이는 180도 위상차를 갖는 2개의 레퍼런스 파형과 위상천이가 된 캐리어 파형의 비교로 PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) 을 수행한다. 두 번째 방식으로는 Level-shift가 있다. 이는 캐리어 파형을 IPD (In-Phase Disposition) 방식으로 수직적으로 대역폭이 연속적이게 나열하여 레퍼런스 파형과 비교하는 PWM방식이다. 본 논문에서는 Phase-shift와 Level-shift 방식에 따른 Cascaded H-bridge 인버터와 NPC (Neutral Point Clamped) 인버터를 결합한 토폴로지에서의 온도에 따른 손실을 분석하고, 시뮬레이션을 통하여 비교 분석하였다.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.519-530
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• 2022

Recent research indicates that lactate promotes the switching of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to a synthetic phenotype, which has been implicated in various vascular diseases. This study aimed to investigate the effects of lactate on the VSMC phenotype switch and the underlying mechanism. The CCK-8 method was used to assess cell viability. The microRNAs and mRNAs levels were evaluated using quantitative PCR. Targets of microRNA were predicted using online tools and confirmed using a luciferase reporter assay. We found that lactate promoted the switch of VSMCs to a synthetic phenotype, as evidenced by an increase in VSMC proliferation, mitochondrial activity, migration, and synthesis but a decrease in VSMC apoptosis. Lactate inhibited miR-23b expression in VSMCs, and miR-23b inhibited VSMC's switch to the synthetic phenotype. Lactate modulated the VSMC phenotype through downregulation of miR-23b expression, suggesting that overexpression of miR-23b using a miR-23b mimic attenuated the effects of lactate on VSMC phenotype modulation. Moreover, we discovered that SMAD family member 3 (SMAD3) was the target of miR-23b in regulating VSMC phenotype. Further findings suggested that lactate promotes VSMC switch to synthetic phenotype by targeting SMAD3 and downregulating miR-23b. These findings suggest that correcting the dysregulation of miR-23b/SMAD3 or lactate metabolism is a potential treatment for vascular diseases.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.113-118
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• 2006

In the primary sensory neuron of the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus (MTN), the peripheral axon supplies a large number of annulospiral endings surrounding intrafusal fibers encapsulated in single muscle spindles while the central axon sends only a few number of synapses onto single ${\alpha}-motoneurons({\alpha}-MNs)$. Therefore, the ${\alpha}-{\gamma}$ linkage is thought to be very crucial in the jaw-closing movement. Spike activity in a ${\gamma}-motoneuron\;({\gamma}-MN)$ would induce a large number of impulses in single peripheral axons by activating many intrafusal fibers simultaneously, subsequently causing an activation of ${\alpha}-MNs$ in spite of the small number of synapses. Thus, the activity of ${\gamma}-MNs$ may be vital for modulation of jaw-closing movements. Independently of such a spindle activity modulated by ${\gamma}-MNs$, somatic depolarization in MTN neurons is known to trigger the oscillatory spike activity. Nevertheless, the trafficking of these spikes arising from the two distinct sources of MTN neurons is not well understood. In this short review, switching among multiple functional modes of MTN neurons is discussed. Subsequently, it will be discussed which mode can support the ${\alpha}-{\gamma}$ linkage. In our most recent study, simultaneous patch-clamp recordings from the soma and axon hillock revealed a spike-back-propagation from the spike-initiation site in the stem axon to the soma in response to a somatic current pulse. The persistent $Na^+$ current was found to be responsible for the spike-initiation in the stem axon, the activation threshold of which was lower than those of soma spikes. Somatic inputs or impulses arising from the sensory ending, whichever trigger spikes in the stem axon first, would be forwarded through the central axon to the target synapse. We also demonstrated that at hyperpolarized membrane potentials, 4-AP-sensitive $K^+$ current ($IK_{4-AP}$) exerts two opposing effects on spikes depending on their origins; the suppression of spike initiation by increasing the apparent electrotonic distance between the soma and the spike-initiation site, and the facilitation of axonal spike invasion at higher frequencies by decreasing the spike duration and the refractory period. Through this mechanism, the spindle activity caused by ${\gamma}-MNs$ would be safely forwarded to ${\alpha}-MNs$. Thus, soma spikes shaped differentially by this $IK_{4-AP}$ depending on their origins would reflect which one of the two inputs was forwarded to the target synapses.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.324-331
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• 2013

The addition and removal of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) molecules on serine or threonine residues of a protein is called O-GlcNAcylation. This post-translational modification occurs on both cytoplasmic and nuclear protein, and is fast and reversible as comparable to phosphorylation. In contrast to the phospho-signaling cycles, this emerging moon-lightening signaling is cycled by only two enzymes, O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and O-GlcNAcase (OGA). The simple machinery is a good evolutionary adaptation of a cell for quick accommodation to continuously fluctuating intra- and extracellular microenvironments. Rather than "switching" on or off a specific proteins - this would be done by phosphorylation where numerous specific kinases and phosphatases are involved - O-GlcNAcylation would play a "rheostat" which would be much more delicately increase or decrease the efficacy of signal transductions in response to cellular nutrient and stress conditions. Interestingly, recent evidence indicates that O-GlcNAc is further modified by phosphorylation. The O-GlcNAc-P will upgrade the modulation efficiency of cellular processes to continuous 'analogue' level. So far, only one protein AP180 was reported to have O-GlcNAc-P on Thr310. But, proteomic data from our laboratory indicate that there are multiple O-GlcNAc-P proteins, constituting "O-GlcNAc-P'om". This will focus on the possibility of existence of "O-GlcNAc-P'om".