• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.109-118
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• 2021

In the periodic surveillance material test for the spacer component of fuel channel assembly in CANDU, a microstructural characterization analysis is required in addition to the mechanical property evaluation test. In this study, detailed microstructure analysis and simple mechanical property evaluation of archive spacer parts were conducted to indirectly support the surveillance test and assist in the study of spacer material degradation. We investigated the microstructural characteristics of the spacer garter spring coil through comparative analysis with the plate material. The main microstructure characteristics of the garter spring coil X-750 are represented by the fine grain size distribution, the ordering phase distribution developed inside the matrix, the high dislocation density inside the grains, and the arrangement of coarse carbides. In addition, the yield strength of the garter spring coil X-750 was indirectly evaluated to be approximately 1 GPa. We also established an analytical method to elucidate the microstructural evolution of the radioactive spacer garter spring coil X-750 based on Canadian research experiences. Finally, we confirmed the measurement technique for helium bubble formation through TEM examination on the helium implanted X-750 material.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.421-428
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• 2001

New WC-CrN superlattice film was deposited on Si substrate (500$\mu\textrm{m}$) using cathodic arc ion plating system. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the film depend on the superlattice period (λ). In the X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), preferred orientation of microstructure was changed according to various superlattice periods(λ). During the Transmission Electron Microscope analysis (TEM), microstructure and superlattice period (λ) of the WC - CrN superlattice film was confirmed. Hardness and adhesion of the deposited film was evaluated by nanoindentation test and scratch test, respectively. As a result of nanoindentation test, the hardness of WC - CrN superlattice film was gained about 40GPa at superlattice period (λ) with 7nm. Also residual stress with various superlattice period (λ) was measured on Si wafer (100$\mu\textrm{m}$) by conventional beam-bending technique. The residual stress of the film was reduced to a value of 0.2 GPa by introducing Ti - WC buffer layers periodically with a thickness ratio ($t_{buffer}$/$t_{buffer+superlattice}$ ). To the end, for the evaluation of oxidation resistance at the elevated temperature, CrN single layer and WC - CrN superlattice films with various superlattice periods on SKD61 substrate was measured and compared with the oxidation resistance.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2000

The comparative study of texture of Al/Ti thin films deposited on low-dielectric polymer and $SiO_2$substrates has been investigated. Fifty-nm-thick Ti films and 500-nm-thick Al-1%Si-0.5%Cu (wt%) films were deposited sequentially onto low-k polymers and $SiO_2$by using a DC magnetron sputtering system. The texture of Al thin film was determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) theta-2theta ($\theta$-2$\theta$) and rocking curve and the microstructure of Al/Ti films on low-k polymer and $SiO_2$substrates was characterized by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Both the $\theta$-2$\theta$ method and rocking curve measurement suggest that Al/Ti thin films deposited on $SiO_2$have stronger texture than those deposited on low-k polymer. The texture of Al thin films strongly depended on that of Ti films. Cross-sectional TEM revealed that grains of Ti films on $SiO_2$substrates had grown perpendicular to the substrate, while the grains of Ti alms on SiLK substrates were formed randomly. The lower degree of (111) texture of Al thin films on low-k polymer was due to Ti underlayer.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.538-543
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• 2007

We fabricated the Ni plate by electroforming process and evaluated the microstructure, mechanical properties and wear behavior of the Ni plate. Specifically, the effects of addition of wetting agents, SF 1 and SF 2 solutions, on the microstructure and properties were investigated. The microstructure and surface morphology were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively, and friction coefficient was measured by the ball-on-disk method. We found that the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ni plate were changed with kind and amount of wetting agents used. The hardness and tensile strength of Ni plate formed without wetting agents was 228 Hv and 660.7 MPa, respectively, whiled when wetting agent was added, those were improved to be 739 Hv and 1286.3 MPa. These improvements were probably due to the finer grain size and less crystallization of Ni. In addition, when both wetting agents were added, the friction coefficient was reduced from 0.73 to 0.67 which is partially caused by the improved hardness and smooth surface.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.389-395
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• 2021

Oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) steel has excellent high-temperature properties, corrosion resistance, and oxidation resistance, and is expected to be applicable in various fields. Recently, various studies on mechanical alloying (MA) have been conducted for the dispersion of oxide particles in ODS steel with a high number density. In this study, ODS steel is manufactured by introducing a complex milling process in which planetary ball milling, cryogenic ball milling, and drum ball milling are sequentially performed, and the microstructure and high-temperature mechanical properties of the ODS steel are investigated. The microstructure observation revealed that the structure is stretched in the extrusion direction, even after the heat treatment. In addition, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis confirmed the presence of oxide particles in the range of 5 to 10 nm. As a result of the room-temperature and high-temperature compression tests, the yield strengths were measured as 1430, 1388, 418, and 163 MPa at 25, 500, 700, and 900℃, respectively. Based on these results, the correlation between the microstructure and mechanical properties of ODS steel manufactured using the composite milling process is also discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.22-26
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• 2001

Microstructures of AlN thin films on Si substrates grown by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy were analyzed with various growth temperatures and substrate orientations. Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) patterns were checked for the in-situ monitoring of the growth condition. X-ray diffraction(XRD), double crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXD), and transmission electron microscopy/diffraction (TEM/TED) techniques were employed to characterize the microstructure of the films after growth. On Si(100) sub-strates, AlN thin films were grown mostly along the hexagonal c-axis orientation at temperature higher than $850^{\circ}C$. On the other hand the AlN films on Si(111) were epitaxially grown with directional coherencies in AlN(0001)/Si(111), AlN(1100)/Si(110), and AlN(1120)/Si(112). The microstructure of AlN thin films on Si(111) substrates, with a full width at half maximum of almost 3000 arcsec at 2$\theta$=$36.2^{\circ}$, showed that the single crystal films were grown, even if they includ a lot of crystal defects such as dislocations and stacking faults.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.327-332
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• 1996

In this study, the effects of $WSi_x$, thickness and fluorine concentration in tungsten polycide gate structure on gate oxide were investigated. As $WSi_x$, thickness increases, gate oxide thickness increases with fluorine incorporation in gate oxide, and time-to-breakdown($T_{BD,50%}$) of oxide decreases. The stress change with $WSi_x$ thickness was also examined. But it is understood that the dominant factor to degrade gate oxide properties is not the stress but the fluorine, incorporated during $WSi_x$ deposition, diffused into $WSiO_2$ after heat treatment. In order to understand the effect of fluorine diffusion into oxidem fluorine ion implanted gates were compared. The thickness variation and $T_{BD,50%}$ of gate oxide is saturated over 600 $\AA$ thickness of $WSi_x$. The TEM and SIMS studies show the microstructure less than 600 $\AA$ thickness is dense and flat in surface. However, over 600$\AA$, the microstructure of $WSi_x$ is divided into two parts: upper porous phase with rugged surface and lower dense phase with smmoth interface. And this upper phase is transformed into oxygen rich crystalline phase after annealing, and the fluorine is captured in this layer. Therefore, the fluorine diffusion into the gate oxide is saturated.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.162-166
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• 2000

High quality $Si_3N_4$ metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors were realized by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Titanium nitride (TiN) adapted as a diffusion barrier reduced the interfacial reaction between $Si_3N_4$ dielectric layer and aluminum metal electrode showing neither hillock nor observable precipitate along the interface. The capacitance and the current-voltage characteristics of the MIM capacitors showed that the minimum thickness of $Si_3N_4$ layer should be limited to 500 $\AA$ under the present process, below which most of the capacitors were electrically shorted resulting in the devastation of on-wafer yield. According to the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on the cross-sectional microstructure of the capacitors, the dielectric breakdown was caused by slit-like voids formed at the interface between TiN and $Si_3N_4$ layers when the thickness of $Si_3N_4$ layer was less than 500 $\AA$. Based on the calculation of thermally-induced residual stress, the formation of voids was understood from the mechanistic point of view.

• Korean Journal of Crystallography
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.182-187
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• 2001

The purpose of this study is to investigate the degradation of soft magnetic properties of Fe-Hf-N thin films after annealing in vacuum. They were annealed at 450℃∼650℃. The microstructure and crystal phase of the selected area of the thin films were analyzed by TEM and SAD. After annealing at 450℃-600℃, the coercivity of the films increased by 0.2 Oe and the effective permeability decreased by 1500 as compared with them before annealing due to the growth of α-Fe crystallites. The saturation magnetic flux density of the films increased by 0.5 KG after annealing under 600℃. However, the soft magnetic properties of the film annealed at 650℃ degraded abruptly, which was attributed to the destruction of nano-crystalline microstructure of the film due to the rapid growth of α-Fe crystallites with the segregation of N sited in the α-Fe lattice into HfN.

• International Journal of Korean Welding Society
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.58-62
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• 2001

The surface of AC8A Ah alloy was modified by adding the Cu powder using a Plasma Transferred Arc (PTA) welding process. Under the optimum fabricating conditions, the modified surface of AC8A Ah alloy was observed to possess the sound microstructure with a minimum porosity. Hardness and wear resistance properties of the as-fabricated alloy were compared with those of the 76 heat-treated one. In case of the as-fabricated alloy, the hardness of the modified layer was twice that of the matrix region. Although significant increase in the hardness of the matrix region was observed after T6 heat treatment, the hardness of the modified layer was not observed to change. The wear resistance of the modified layer was significantly increased compared to that of the matrix region. The microstructure of a weld zone and the matrix region were investigated using the optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The primary and eutectic silicon in the weld zone were finer and more curved than in the matrix region, while some precipitates has had been found therein. According to the TEM observation, the predominant precipitate present in the weld zone was the $\theta$'phase, which is precipitated during cooling by rapid solidification in PTA welding process. Improvement of hardness and wear properties in the weld zone in the as-fabricated condition can be explained based on the presence of $\theta$’precipitates and fine primary and eutectic silicon distribution.