• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.100-104
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• 2019

The 'ITO/Ag/ITO' multilayers as a highly conductive and transparent electrode, even with the optimum thickness conditions, the transmittances were much lower than those of a single ITO layer on some ranges of the visible wavelength. In order to improve the transmittance, Ag layer was formed with mesh structure. Where, the thickness of the Ag layer was about 10 nm and the space between the Ag lines was varied from 2.9 ㎛ to 19.6 ㎛ with the fixed Ag width of about 1.2 ㎛ in order to vary an open ratio of the Ag mesh structure. The transmittance and sheet resistance in the ITO/Mesh-Ag/ITO multilayer structure were analyzed depending on the open ratio. As a result, a trade off in the open ratio was necessary in order to obtain the transmittance as high as possible and the sheet resistance as possible low. By the open ratio of about 86%, in the ITO/Mesh-Ag/ITO multilayer structure, the transmittance was nearly same as the single ITO layer and the sheet resistance was about 62.3 Ω/.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.403-415
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• 2021

Background: This study aimed to assess the possibility of benzene exposure in workers of a Korean semiconductor manufacturing company by reviewing the issued patents. Methods: A systematic patent search was conducted with the Google "Advanced Patent Search" engine using the keywords "semiconductor" and "benzene" combined with all of the words accessed on January 24, 2016. Results: As a result of the search, we reviewed 75 patent documents filed by a Korean semiconductor manufacturing company from 1994 to 2010. From 22 patents, we found that benzene could have been used as one of the carbon sources in chemical vapor deposition for capacitor; as diamond-like carbon for solar cell, graphene formation, or etching for transition metal thin film; and as a solvent for dielectric film, silicon oxide layer, nanomaterials, photoresist, rise for immersion lithography, electrophotography, and quantum dot ink. Conclusion: Considering the date of patent filing, it is possible that workers in the chemical vapor deposition, immersion lithography, and graphene formation processes could be exposed to benzene from 1996 to 2010.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.228-232
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• 2019

Copper electroplating and electrode patterning using a screen printer are applied instead of lithography for heterostructure with intrinsic thin layer(HIT) silicon solar cells. Samples are patterned on an indium tin oxide(ITO) layer using polymer resist printing. After polymer resist patterning, a Ni seed layer is deposited by sputtering. A Cu electrode is electroplated in a Cu bath consisting of $Cu_2SO_4$ and $H_2SO_4$ at a current density of $10mA/cm^2$. Copper electroplating electrodes using a screen printer are successfully implemented to a line width of about $80{\mu}m$. The contact resistance of the copper electrode is $0.89m{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$, measured using the transmission line method(TLM), and the sheet resistance of the copper electrode and ITO are $1{\Omega}/{\square}$ and $40{\Omega}/{\square}$, respectively. In this paper, a screen printer is used to form a solar cell electrode pattern, and a copper electrode is formed by electroplating instead of using a silver electrode to fabricate an efficient solar cell electrode at low cost.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.569-575
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• 2021

The reactivity evaluation of copper is performed using ethylenediamine, aminoethanol, and piperidine to apply organic chelators to copper etching. It is revealed that piperidine, which is a ring-type chelator, has the lowest reactivity on copper and copper oxide and ethylenediamine, which is a chain-type chelator, has the highest reactivity via inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Furthermore, it is confirmed that the stable complex of copper-ethylenediamine can be formed during the reaction between copper and ethylenediamine using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and radio-thin layer chromatography. As a final evaluation, the copper reactivity is evaluated by wet etching using each solution. Scanning electron micrographs reveal that the degree of copper reaction in ethylenediamine is stronger than that in any other chelator. This result is in good agreement with the evaluation results obtained by ICP-MS and NMR. It is concluded that ethylenediamine is a prospective etch gas for the dry etching of the copper.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.51-55
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• 2021

We demonstrated a polymer dielectric with low leakage characteristics through an optimal blade coating method for low-cost and large-scale fabrication of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors. Cross-linked poly(4-vinylphenol) (C-PVP), which is a typically used polymer dielectric, was coated on a 10 × 10 cm indium-tin-oxide (ITO) deposited glass substrate by changing the deposition temperature (TD) and coating velocity (VC) in the blade coating. During the blade coating, the thickness of the thin c-PVP varied depending on TD and VC owing to the 'Landau-Levich (LL) regime'. The c-PVP-dielectric-based MIM capacitor fabricated in this study showed the lowest leakage current characteristics (10-6 A/㎠ at 1.2 MV/㎠, annealing at 200 ℃) and uniform electrical characteristics when TD was 30 ℃ and VC was 5 mm/s. In addition, at TD = 30 ℃, stable leakage characteristics were confirmed when a different electric field was applied. These results are expected to positively contribute to applications with next-generation electronic devices.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.517-525
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• 2021

More underground structures are increasingly being constructed such as box culverts for electric power transmission, and the life extension of these structures is very important. It is well known that the steel embedded in concrete is usually invulnerable to corrosion because the high alkalinity of the pore solution in concrete generates a thin protective oxide layer on the surface of the steel. Recent observations in the field and experimental evidence have shown that even steel in concrete can be corroded through the carbonation reaction of cover concrete. Carbonation-induced corrosion in concrete may often occur in a high carbon dioxide environment. In this study, the risk of carbonation of underground box culverts in Korea was evaluated by measuring the car¬bonation rate and concrete cover depth in the field. Then, the carbonation-free service life for the cover depth of the steel was calcu¬lated with in situ information and Monte Carlo simulation. Additionally, an accelerated carbonation test for a cracked beam specimen was performed, and the effect of a crack on the service life of a box culvert was numerically investigated with Monte Carlo simulation based on experimental results.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.129-133
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• 2022

This paper describes why we must use graphene materials for solar cells and biosensors. It has been superior in several properties such as super-thin film, higher tensile strength, high current density, high thermal conductivity, and high mobility. Therefore, graphene is one of the emerging advanced materials because of its applicability in various electronic device applications. We investigated the requirements of graphene materials for the application of solar cells and biosensors. In addition, we discussed the research trends such as transducers in biosensors and transparent electrodes in solar cells. The research on graphene materials and their application will be beneficial and helpful for the near future.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.156-168
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• 2023

This study investigates the high temperature oxidation behaviour of a Ni-20Cr-1.2Si (wt.%) alloy in steam from 1200 ℃ to 1350 ℃ by Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The results demonstrate that exposed Ni-based alloy developed a thin oxide scale, consisted mainly of Cr₂O₃. The oxidation kinetics obtained from the experimental results was applied to evaluate the hydrogen generation considering a simplified reactor core model with different cladding alloys following an unmitigated Loss-Of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) scenario in a hypothetical Small Modular Reactor (SMR). Overall, experimental data and simulations results show that both Fe-based and Ni-based alloys may enhance cladding survivability, delaying its melting, as well as reducing hydrogen generation under accident conditions compared to Zr-based alloys. However, a substantial neutron absorption occurs when Ni-based alloys are used as cladding for current uranium-dioxide fuel systems, even when compared to Fe-based alloys.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.229-235
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• 2023

An all-perovskite oxide heterostructure composed of SrSnO₃/Nb-doped SrTiO₃ was fabricated using the pulsed laser deposition method. In-plane and out-of-plane structural characterization of the fabricated films were analyzed by x-ray diffraction with θ-2θ scans and φ scans. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement was performed to check the film's composition. The electrical transport characteristic of the heterostructure was determined by applying a pulsed dc bias across the interface. Unusual transport properties of the interface between the SrSnO₃ and Nb-doped SrTiO₃ were investigated at temperatures from 100 to 300 K. A diodelike rectifying behavior was observed in the temperature-dependent current-voltage (IV) measurements. The forward current showed the typical IV characteristics of p-n junctions or Schottky diodes, and were perfectly fitted using the thermionic emission model. Two regions with different transport mechanism were detected, and the boundary curve was expressed by ln I = -1.28V - 13. Under reverse bias, however, the temperature- dependent IV curves revealed an unusual increase in the reverse-bias current with decreasing temperature, indicating tunneling effects at the interface. The Poole-Frenkel emission was used to explain this electrical transport mechanism under the reverse voltages.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.26-31
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• 2023

We investigated the impact of NF₃ / H₂O remote plasma dry cleaning conditions on the SiO₂ etching rate at different preparation states during the fabrication of ultra-large-scale integration (ULSI) devices. This included consideration of factors like Si crystal orientation prior to oxidation and three-dimensional structures. The dry cleaning process were carried out varying the parameters of pressure, NF₃ flow rate, and H₂O flow rate. We found that the pressure had an effective role in controlling anisotropic etching when a thin SiO₂ layer was situated between Si₃N₄ and Si layers in a multilayer trench structure. Based on these observations, we would like to provide further guidelines for implementing the dry cleaning process in the fabrication of semiconductor devices having 3D structures.